Deliver Me From Evil (16 page)

I
n some ways, Jesse Ray Thurman saved my life. I don't know what would have become of me if he had not offered me a job in the video store that he managed and would eventually own.

It was hard to believe that so many years had passed. I couldn't believe that I was now sitting in an old wreck of a car with Wade Eddie Fisher, depending on him to get me—and a million dollars—away from Jesse Ray.

“You awful quiet back there,” Wade said, with a snort. “You want some pancakes or a Egg McMuffin or something? There's a McDonald's at the corner.”

“I'm not hungry,” I said. “I just want to get this over and done with.” I covered my mouth with my hand and yawned. I knew that sooner or later I would really have to catch up on my sleep. I was beginning to feel weaker and weaker. And not just that. I also felt disoriented and paranoid.

“It's almost over, baby. The next call to my man will be to make sure he's got that damn money ready for us. Then, once we get situated, I call him and tell him where he can pick you up at,” Wade explained, looking at the side of Jason's knotty head.

As if on cue, Jason glanced at Wade, then over his shoulder at me. I didn't like the look on his face. It was the same smug look he'd had on that ugly mug of his since he'd heard that my husband was going to pay a million dollars for my release. I didn't like the look that was on Wade's face, either. He looked twice as smug as Jason.

“We need to talk about who gets what,” I suggested, hoping that I sounded firm enough for Wade to realize that I was still the one in charge.

“Now hold on, baby. Keep your thongs on. I told you we'd get to that later,” Wade snarled. “We'll talk about that later.”

“No, we need to talk about it now. I don't want to wait until we get the money. And, anyway, you agreed to take fifty grand. That should be all I give to you,” I said in a hot tone of voice. Wade and Jason looked at each other again, then at me.

“Look, I agreed to fifty grand because half a million was all I thought you was getting at the time. But this new thing here, what your old man offered up on his own, it changes everything. You need to be fair. I went way out on a long-ass limb for you. I ain't going to be shortchanged after all I went through,” Wade snapped.

“Look, I am the victim here. I am the one who is giving up the most,” I reminded, stabbing my chest with my finger.

“Victim? You think you are a victim?” said Wade. He rose up on his seat and turned all the way around, looking at me so hard, my face stung. He laughed so hard that a large tear rolled down his cheek like a pebble.

“You know what I mean,” I said sheepishly.

“Oh, I know what you mean all right,” Wade said, still laughing. “You are the victim, but me and Jason are just as much victims as you if we get caught, girl. Shit.” He sucked in a deep breath and turned back around to face the road. “Any way you look at this thing, you are still going to come out smelling like a rose. You'll still have enough money to live on for the rest of your life if you spend it like you got some sense. By the way, where exactly in Hawaii do you plan on doing your thing?”

“What? What are you talking about?” I asked. Wade turned around again, his mouth stretched open like a hole in the wall. With my mind being in such a shambles, I had temporarily forgotten that I'd told him that I was going to relocate to Hawaii with my share of the ransom. “Oh! Uh, Maui. That's where I'm going to rent me a little apartment and live a quiet life.”

“What the fuck! Whatever!” Wade threw up his hands in exasperation. “Look, you better eat something. With them dark circles around your eyes, you look like hell. I don't want you to look like you been mistreated when you go back to your old man,” Wade said, motioning with his hand for Jason to turn into the McDonald's parking lot at the corner. “After you eat something, we'll drop you off back at the motel and let you have some time to yourself. You might want to go over in your head what you want to say, and how you want to act, when … uh … your old man picks you up. Rehearse your speech and shit so you can play your part right. This is a one-time deal, baby. You got to do it right the first time.”

“I don't need to rehearse anything,” I replied in a cool, level voice.

“Look, lady. This ain't no game. We can't take no chance on you saying nothing stupid once we turn you loose. I ain't going back to jail no matter what happens! If we get busted, they ain't taking me alive! Like Wade just said, you need to figure out everything you are going to say and do once we turn you loose,” Jason hollered, turning into the McDonald's parking lot. “And we want to know just what it is you plan on saying!”

“No, you look, you snaggletoothed motherfucker!” My words shot out of my mouth so loud and violently, my throat ached. I had to lower my voice for my own sake. “I've said it once and I will say it again, this is between Wade and me. I didn't bring you into this, Jason, and I will be damned if I am going to sit here and let you give me orders,” I hissed, leaning toward the front seat, gripping the back of the seat so hard, my knuckles ached.

As soon as the car stopped, another car pulled up and parked next to us. I immediately slumped back into the corner of my seat and held my breath. My poor heart had been thumping and pumping so hard and fast the last couple of days, I was surprised that it had not stopped beating altogether by now. Even with the cap on my head, hiding my hair, I didn't want anybody to see me. Even people I didn't know. Like the strange Hispanic man who had just parked his car next to us.

“Baby, we are all in this together. I know we are beginning to get on one another's nerves, but it'll all be over soon. Now give me some sugar,” Wade said, pursing his lips. He growled when I turned my head away. “That's how you want to be now?” he asked, sounding hurt. I ignored him and remained huddled in the backseat as he and Jason left the car, mumbling profanities.

I
felt weaker and even more disoriented. It seemed like everything was spiraling out of control. I was afraid that one of the things that I was going to lose control of was my mind. And, even though I didn't have much of an appetite, my mouth started to water for that Egg McMuffin that Wade had bought. I thought that if I put some food in my stomach, it might help settle my nerves. The last time I stood up, I felt so light-headed, my legs buckled and I almost fell.

I was glad to be back in the motel alone. After I ate, I took a shower. I scrubbed myself until my flesh ached, but I still didn't feel clean. Especially since I had slid back into the same underwear and clothes, which were all pretty ripe by now.

I couldn't sit still; I couldn't concentrate on anything on the television screen. I couldn't call anyone I knew, and I couldn't go anywhere on my own. I had truly begun to feel like the victim that I was pretending to be.

The room was small, but as much pacing as I did, I had probably walked enough to cover a football field. Other than one of those dollar-store Bibles in the nightstand drawer, there was nothing in the room for me to read.

I had some make-up in my purse, but I didn't want to hide the dark circles around my eyes. I wanted them to stay there and get even darker if possible. For the first time in my life, I wanted to look like a frump. I had to look like a woman who had been through a kidnapping ordeal when Jesse Ray picked me up.

Wade had to go home to check on his mama. She'd called him up on his cell phone three times in the last hour. He'd cussed and fussed about it nonstop for twenty minutes. I knew he loved his mama, but Miss Louise had become a major thorn in his side over the years. To calm her down, he took with him twenty bucks that he had “borrowed” from me to give to her.

I didn't know where that Jason went, and I didn't care. All I cared about was the fact that the next time I saw Wade, he would have made the call to Jesse Ray from another pay phone to make sure he had the money.

I managed to eat half of the food from McDonald's; then I decided I'd try to take a nap. I was so worn-out and anxious, I knew that if I did manage to fall asleep, I'd sleep like a log. I don't know when I finally dozed off or how long I slept. But I woke up in a hurry when I realized there was a rough, hairy hand over my mouth. I was so groggy, I thought it was a monkey's paw. I tried to bite it, but the skin was as thick and tough as rawhide.

“What the hell? Jason, what the hell are you doing?” I shouted, pushing him and his hand away. I sat up, coughing and glaring at him as he leaned over me. “Motherfucker, what the fuck are you doing?” I hollered, wiping his filthy DNA off my lips. Jason's touch was enough to make my stomach turn. I wished that it had been just a monkey's paw. For one horrific moment, I thought that he was trying to rape me!

“Be quiet!” Jason snarled. “Shet the fuck up!” His breath was as foul as cow dung.

I swung at him, aiming for that one upper tooth that he had left, hoping to knock it out. He turned his head just in time for my fist to land on his cheek. “Fuck you! What the hell do you mean by coming up in here, putting your funky hands on me?”

“I didn't want to surprise you and have you jump up swinging at me,” Jason said, pouting.

“Surprise me? Well, you did just that! Don't you ever touch me again, Jason. You don't know me well enough to be putting your nasty hands on me like that! My own husband doesn't put his hand over my mouth, motherfucker.”

“Fuck you and that punk-ass husband of yours. You ain't got to worry about nothing no more, so you can calm your ass down,” Jason boomed. There was a strange look on his face. “We got the money,” he continued in a hollow voice. “All neat and pretty in a little black suitcase.”

My breath felt like it was stuck in my windpipe. I coughed and cleared my throat. “What?” I asked, looking around the room and behind Jason, surprised that Wade was not present. “Where's Wade?” I demanded. I had to slap the side of my head and then shake it to keep my thoughts from rolling around in so many different directions. A headache came on so fast, it felt like somebody had just batted my skull with a baseball bat.

“He's around, close by,” Jason replied, snapping a finger. “He's getting everything situated so we can get you back to your old man.”

“Well, what's that got to do with you putting your hand over my mouth? Where is Wade?” I asked again. I leaped up from the bed, so fast, I almost knocked Jason to the floor. “Where is the money?” I asked, my hands on my hips, looking around the room some more.

“Wade and the money is at my pad over on Telegraph.”

“Why is he there? Why didn't he come with you?”

“Lady, a million bucks is a heap of money. He couldn't leave it laying around his nosy-ass mama's house, with her broke ass roaming from room to room. That woman spends money like it's going out of style. Can you imagine what she would do if she stumbled upon a million bucks? And, that's bad enough, but Wade didn't want to be riding around town with it, with all these crazy motherfuckers around here.”

“Shit!” I hollered, stumbling to the bathroom, where I splashed cold water on my face. “I intend to let Wade know I don't appreciate you coming back here, pulling a stunt like you just did, Jason!” I yelled, moving back toward the bed, drying my face with a wad of toilet paper.

“Christine, I want you to know right here and now, this ain't my idea,” Jason said, with a leer. “I was beginning to like you. Even though you've been treating me like an ugly stepbrother. If you wasn't already hooked up with Wade, I would make you my woman. I like women with big legs.” He paused and cleared his throat, his eyes locked with mine. “But I wouldn't put up with that smart-ass mouth you got. I'd straighten you out in no time if you was my woman. With your hardheaded, bigmouthed self—just like a black woman! That's why I'm going to get me an Asian woman next! A
pure
one straight off the boat so I can train her real good! You black women done got so out of control, it's a damn shame,” he declared, shaking his head. “I don't know what this world is coming to. Shit.”

I fought, with a gasp that was so brutal, it almost choked me. My legs buckled again, and I plopped down on the bed. I had to close my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them again, I choked some more. Jason was standing over me again. But this time there was a gun in his hand.

“J
ason, now you tell me what the hell this is about,” I demanded, folding my arms, my eyes on the gun. “Look, I'm already a nervous wreck, but you are really beginning to scare me. Now if Wade's got the money, and he's at your place, I want you to take me over there. We need to wrap this thing up so I can go on back home.” I didn't even recognize the squeaky voice coming out of my own mouth. I couldn't take my eyes off the gun in Jason's hand. The fact that his hand was shaking made me even more concerned and scared. But scared was too mild a word to describe the way I felt. I was terrified, to say the least.

Jason sniffed and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. “You ain't got nothing to be scared of,” he assured me, growling under his breath. “I ain't going to hurt you.”

“You've got a gun in my face, and I don't know why. Why shouldn't I be scared?” I wailed, sounding stronger now.

Jason tilted his head to the side and gave me a pitiful look, confusing me even more.

When I attempted to get up from the bed, he pushed me back down, pinning me in place with his knee on my chest. Now that really made me mad. My breasts felt like somebody had set a cement block on them, and I could hardly breathe. But Jason's gun was too close to my face for me to overreact. I responded with as much caution as I could manage. “Be careful, Jason. And get that gun away from me,
please
,” I pleaded, shaking a shaky finger in his face. “Now I want you to get the hell away from me and tell me what is going on. I'm tired, and I want to get the fuck away from you and your boy Wade.”

Jason gave me another pitiful look, and this time he looked truly sincere. “My oldest daughter is named Christine,” he muttered, looking at the floor. I was glad that he had pointed the gun away from me.

“So what the fuck do I care?” I yelled, attempting to rise again. He pushed me back down on the bed, still pinning me down with his knees on my chest.

“Christine, I … see, I just want to say something first. I don't know what you seen in Wade, in the first place. He ain't nothing but a dumb-ass punk. He couldn't even make it in Hollywood,” Jason declared. I didn't know what to say to that, so I just kept my lips pressed together. His eyes looked like two black holes that somebody had cracked open in his face as a cruel joke.

“Well, this is the deal,” Jason continued, pausing again. “Me and Wade, uh, we decided to cut you out of the deal.” His nose was running. He wiped it with the back of the hand that held his gun. “Shit, I don't even want to be doing this. But, see, Wade said if you try anything, I'm supposed to shoot you. And, he told me to make sure I shoot you in the head.” Jason looked at me and blinked. One moment he looked sorry, and the next moment there was so much contempt on his face, you could have peeled it off with a knife.

“I just wish your name wasn't Christine,” he whispered, rising. I didn't bother to try to get up again. I was too stunned to move. “If some asshole was to play my daughter Christine like you about to get played, I'd teach him a lesson he'd never forget!” Jason turned his back to me, but he continued talking. “And, I don't know if it'll make you feel any better, but if you
was
my woman, this wouldn't be happening.” He whirled around to face me again, holding his gun up in the air.

I rubbed my eyes and blinked, jerking my head back and forth. I looked from Jason's face to the gun in his hand. But I still didn't move off the bed. I slapped the side of my head and shook it, like I didn't believe what I was hearing. And I didn't. “I don't believe this is happening,” I whimpered.

“Well, it's happening, baby. Now you get your shit, and let's get the hell up out of here.” Jason waved the gun and glanced at his watch.

I leaped off the bed, landing on my feet, with my hands on my hips. I was so angry by now that the gun no longer scared me. “You crazy son of a bitch!” I hissed. It was a struggle to keep my voice low. I could hear voices in the rooms on both sides of me. I didn't want them to hear mine.

Jason folded his arms and looked me up and down. “If anybody in this room is crazy, it's you. Did you really think that me and Wade was going to let a million bucks slip through our fingers, woman? I mean,
get real
, bitch! This is a chance of a lifetime. How many black men get something handed to them on a platter like this? I been praying for this kind of opportunity all my life,” he said. His tongue flicked in and out of his mouth. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead like pebbles.

I stumbled toward Jason, with my fist raised. Even with the gun still in his hand, he looked frightened. With every step I took in his direction, he backed up in the opposite direction. I stopped when I realized I had backed him up against the wall. “Jason, you listen to me and you listen good. You are not a stupid man,” I said in a hoarse, desperate voice. “You don't need to do something this stupid. You are going to get paid, brother.”

“Correction! I done already got paid,” he said, with a hollow laugh. “Half a million dollars!” He lifted the gun, touching my nose with the barrel.

“That money belongs to me,” I hissed, moving back toward the bed. “I'm not leaving this room until I speak to Wade,” I said, holding up my hands. I dropped back down on the bed, crossing my legs.

Without a word, but not taking his eyes or the gun off me, Jason fumbled around in his jacket pocket and removed his cell phone. He punched in a number and handed it to me. When Wade answered on the first ring, I didn't know where to begin.