Heart's Desires

Jessica Watkins Presents

Heart’s Desires

KASEY MARTIN

Copyright © 2016 by Kasey Martin

Published by Jessica Watkins Presents

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Without limiting the right under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Prologue

              “Stop right there asshole.”  The deep voice came from behind him.

He turned to look the intruder in the face.  “What tha fuck are you doing here?”  His deep baritone voice was laced with venom and shock.

“I knew I was taking a chance coming here, but I can’t trust anybody to get the job done but me. I can’t have you fucking this up for me.  I have too much to lose at this point,” the intruder replied.

Just as the intruder pointed the gun at the head of his acquaintance, the woman came out of the office.  In a high pitched voice, she screeched, “
Oh my Gawd
! What the hell are you doing? Oh God! Oh God!” the woman repeated, over and over again.

              The man turned toward the woman, annoyed that she was messing up his plans again. “I told you I would take care of this.”  The intruder waved his hand between himself and the other man.  “What the hell are you doing out here screaming?”

              “Wh… wh… why do you have a gun? I thought we were just going to get the records and then get out of here?”  The woman stuttered, nervously wringing her hands.

              “
Do not
fuckin’ question me! It’s your fault I even have to be here. I told you to take care of this shit, and you couldn’t even do something as simple as cover up some damn paperwork!”  The intruder’s voice rose louder with each and every word. His obvious lack of patience with the woman showed on his handsome face.               

              The woman blanched at his words.  Her face was a mask of terror, and her body was visibly trembling.  Her accomplice was scowling at her with disgust.

While the intruder’s attention was on the woman, the shocked victim gathered his thoughts and took the opportunity to lunge at his attacker, trying to grab the gun.  The victim was larger, and was able to knock the intruder off balance, but the intruder swung around, blocking the man’s attempt to seize the weapon. The man was unable to knock the gun out of the intruder’s hand, but he took another hard swing at his attacker. However, his punch didn’t land on its target, but he did manage to clip the intruder on his chin, making him stumble backward before he regained his balance.

              “You stupid motherfucker!”  The intruder growled as he swung, hitting the man in the head with the butt of the gun.

                The larger man staggered backwards, dizzy from the blow.  He was doing his best to stay upright and fighting. It was not in his nature to lose, and he couldn’t imagine going out like this.  After all the things he’d done in his life, being caught off guard was not like him, but this betrayal was unexpected.  The man finally lost the battle and fell to the ground in a heap. Once he was laid out on the floor, his head started to bleed profusely and he quickly slipped into unconsciousness.  The woman could still be heard screaming in the background.

              “Shut the hell up, you stupid bitch!”  The intruder yelled at the hysterical woman.  The woman slapped her hand over her mouth to try to muffle her strangled cries of distress. Tears rolled down, streaking her red face.

              “Don’t just stand there, you damn idiot! Go get what the hell we came here for!!”  The intruder shouted again at the woman.  His handsome face was distorted into a mask of rage, his forehead was wrinkled, and his mouth was tight with tension.  The woman stood looking at the man she thought she knew, unable to reconcile what was happening.

              The intruder started dragging the victim’s body out of sight behind the large bar in the front of the restaurant.  He knew that he couldn’t just leave him lying where he could easily be found.  Blood was coming from the man’s head and pouring down the side of his face, staining the collar of his crisp button down shirt.  He knew there was a possibility that his victim could bleed out, but he had to make sure that he was dead.

              “I said go, bitch!”  The man shouted again to the woman next to him.  She was standing as still as a statue and had a horrified look plastered on her pale face.

              The woman nodded as she quickly scurried to the office to do his bidding.  She didn’t want to upset him anymore than she already had. 

Once she entered the office, she heard a single gunshot ring out loudly behind her.  She froze for a split second as more tears flooded down, staining her face even more.  Even though her accomplice may have thought she was stupid, she was not.  She knew that she couldn’t back out now or she would be the next person dead, so she scrambled quickly to get what they came for… the records. 

              After she got the files, she knew that her next step would be to try to figure out how to get away from this crazy man, and how to get out of this crazy situation alive!

***

              Charlie screamed when she discovered the man’s large limp body lying on the ground with a rapidly growing blood stain soaking the front of his shirt. 

              She was in total shock seeing him like this.  He was always so strong and confident.  Charlie knew that he was dangerous with a skill set that not many possessed, so how did he end up this way?  She crouched behind the bar to look at his gorgeous face; she was so used to him being so full of life, with an easy smile and a wicked sense of humor. But now, his once vibrant tanned skin was pale from blood loss and she could literally see the life draining out of him.  Her hand began to shake, and her usually effervescent chocolate complexion was now dull and washed-out. Charlie’s beautiful face was lined with worry and her hazel eyes were wide with fear.  Her hands were shaking from the adrenaline pumping through her system, and she did her best to keep the nausea at bay. 

              Charlie knew that at this particular moment, she was the only thing standing between this man’s life and his death.  There was no way she could live with herself if anything happened to him, so she knew she had to do what she could to save him. 

              She dialed 911, and her once fearful expression changed to one of determination as she found a towel and pressed it to his wound. Charlie listened to the 911 operator’s directions as he told her to stay calm.  She looked down at her small, shaking hands that were still holding the blood-stained towel.  That was when she noticed for the first time that the towel wasn’t the only thing covered in blood; her hands were now also soaked in his blood. 

              Charlie took a deep breath, tried to relax and listen to the operator, but it took everything in her not to freak the hell out at the situation that she found herself in.

              Charlie knew she couldn’t lose her cool because she could see his olive complexion was losing more and more color.  His skin was getting paler by the second, and she knew without a doubt that she had to keep it together to save this man’s life.

Eight Months Earlier

CHAPTER 1

Charlene Heart had been in Dallas for the last three months.  She had been there since January and she was currently staying with her cousin.  Because Korrine had recently been kidnapped and held for ransom, she wanted Charlie to be close to her because she was the only family Korri had left.

Korri’s fiancé had a crazy-ass ex, and a scheming father who was trying to blackmail him into giving up millions of dollars in cash, and Korri was caught in the middle of all of it. She had been held hostage and had to stay in the hospital for several weeks.  The kidnappers were caught and Korrine was rescued, but it made the cousins realize that they needed to be closer to one another, so with some prodding, Charlie decided to move back to Dallas.

Charlie and Korri grew up together in South Dallas.  Korrine’s parents had passed while she was in college, one right after another, so all the family she had left was Charlie and their grandmother.

Charlie’s mom however passed away from Breast Cancer when Charlie was just in elementary school.  She didn’t have a relationship with her father; as a matter of fact, she could only remember meeting her dad once when she was seven, and she hadn’t seen or heard from him since that day, so she considered him dead as well. 

Charlie moved in with her grandmother, Stella Heart, and she raised her in Oakcliff. Korri had lived right up the street.  The two girls grew up more like sisters than first cousins, but when Charlie went off to college at Tennessee State and  Korri left for college a couple of years later, they grew apart. 

After their grandmother passed away two years ago, Charlie and Korri started to keep in touch more frequently, knowing that their grandmother would want them to be close, and also because the women wanted to be close with one another.

Charlie had been living in Houston working as an accountant when all hell broke loose with Korrine, so she decided she would pick up and move back home to Dallas.  Although Korri was now extending the family with her fiancé, Tony, Charlie still felt she needed to be closer to her younger cousin since they were the only blood relatives they had left.

“Charlie?”  Korrine yelled as she walked in the door.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Charlie responded to her cousin.

“As usual.  You are always in that dang kitchen,” Korrine laughed mockingly, rolling her eyes.

“Sweetie, I love you living in Dallas, you being my favorite cousin and all, but you have got to get out of this damn apartment.”  She smiled a sassy grin at Charlie.  Korri was always trying to get her cousin to go out and do something fun, but Charlie was not having it.

“First of all, the last time I checked, I’m your
only
cousin, and I
have
been out of this apartment, you smartass, and to tell you the truth, I found my own place and I will be moving in a couple of weeks,”  Charlie commented, as she fluttered her lashes, giving a sassy smile in return.

“What?  Why?  Me and Tony love having you stay with us.  I just meant you need to get out and have some fun, not leave me!”  Korri replied, her hazel eyes growing wide with concern at her cousin’s unexpected news.

Charlie gave Korri a placating look.   “It’s ok, damn, calm down, babygirl. I don’t feel unwelcomed or anything.  It’s just time that I get my own spot since I’m staying in Dallas permanently.  I’ve been working at my job for a couple of months now; I’m settled in and reacquainted with the area.”  Charlie’s smile was reassuring.  “It’s time for me to be on my own, have my own space, and give you guys back your privacy.”

Korrine let out a loud exaggerated sigh. “I know you need your own life and everything, but we have plenty of room so you don’t have to move out.  Plus, I need you; I have to have some help planning this wedding.”  Korri held up her hands to stop Charlie from cutting her off.  “And before you say it, I already know what you’re thinking, and you know I can’t give up control and get a planner.” Korri was shaking her head.  “It’s one of the most important days of my life.  There’s no way I’m putting that in someone else’s hands.”

Charlie nodded in understanding. “Look Korri, I’m not moving to Mars.  As a matter of fact, I’m only moving a couple of blocks from here. My friend, Jared helped me find a place.  I will be at your beck and call to help you with your wedding.”  Charlie gave her cousin a soft smile.  “Plus, your best friends, Lauryn and Brandon will help you as well.  Hell, your girl, Lo could plan the whole damn wedding in a day, so I don’t know why you get yourself so worked up.  You know that you have plenty of help.”

“I know, but it’s like you just got here,” Korri pouted, sticking out her plump bottom lip like a petulant child.

Charlie shook her head at the face her cousin was making. “Uh the pout doesn’t work on me. Save that for your ‘superman,’” Charlie smirked, poking fun at the nickname Korri had given her fiancé. 

Both women giggled.  “So this guy, Jared helped you find a place huh?  That was awfully nice of him.  Sooo you haven’t mentioned him before, are you guys dating?”  Korri’s nosiness was apparent with every question she asked Charlie, and her face brightened with curiosity.

“Whoa, whoa there, Tamron Hall, this is not the NBC channel.”  Charlie rolled her eyes at her nosy cousin.  “Jared is a friend, that’s it.  He is just a friend.  He also just happens to be a realtor and offered his services for free, and you know I don’t pass up free.”

Korri narrowed her eyes at her cousin.  Charlie was always avoiding answering her questions about her dating.  “Look, you have been living in Dallas for three months now. You need to get out, date, get you a little sumthin’ sumthin’.  I just want you to be happy here.  You know?”

Korri’s sentence trailed off as she began staring down at the floor like the Mona Lisa was painted there.  She didn’t want Charlie to see the tears of guilt that glossed her hazel eyes.  Korri was the reason Charlie picked up and left her life in Houston, and the thought of her being unhappy made Korri feel sick with remorse.

Charlie sighed, knowing where this conversation was heading.  “Korri, I chose to move here.  We’re family.  You’re the only family I have left in this world, and I would never take that for granted again.”

Korri looked up slowly, giving Charlie a watery smile before taking a deep breath and clearing her throat of the impending tears.  “I understand, but I just think a little companionship never hurt anybody.”

Charlie sighed loudly, rolling her eyes.  “I don’t need a man to be happy, Korri.”

“I didn’t say you needed a man to make you happy. All I’m saying is a little dick in your life wouldn’t hurt.”  Korri gave a wicked grin at her cousin.  All traces of her tears were gone, and the mood was instantly lightened with her saucy comment.

Charlie just stared at her cousin, trying to keep a neutral expression on her face before she busted out laughing.  “Korri, I’m going to tell you this from the bottom of my heart; Tony is clearly rubbing off on you in more ways than one, but the dirty mouth is my thing.  You stay the sweet one.”

“I’m still sweet, and my fiancé loves my dirty mouth.  In fact, he was just telling me last night how he loves all the filthy things I can do…”

Korri didn’t finish her sentence before Charlie put her hand in the air to interrupt her.  “Please believe I don’t need any details of you and your man’s sexy time.  I’ve stayed with you guys long enough to hear plenty.”  Charlie gave a fake shudder of disgust.

Both women laughed.  “Hey, just ‘cause you ain’t gettin’ it on the regular don’t mean I can’t.”  Korri smiled widely, her dimples exposed on her pretty brown face.

“You have a fiancé, you should be gettin’ it on the regular.”  Charlie mocked her cousin.  “I’m not jealous of you and your loud moans of ecstasy and throw your back out sex.  Not jealous one bit.  B.O.B does me just fine, thank you.”  Charlie tried to keep a straight face, all the while knowing they both knew she was completely full of shit.

Korri side-eyed her cousin so hard she almost gave herself a headache.  “Heffa, you know damn well a battery operated boyfriend don’t have shit on a living, breathing dick you down, lick you up, stud.”

They both laughed again as Charlie gave another fake shudder.  “Damn I hate to admit it, but you are damn sure right!  Maybe I will go out on a date, what will it hurt… right?”

Korri clapped her hands in glee, like a kid getting her wish granted.  “I know just who to call. I knew you would come around!  Jake will be so…”

Charlie cut Korri off quickly.  “Nope, absolutely not!  I can get my own dates.  I am not so desperate that my married little cousin has to set up her spinster of an older cousin.  Thanks, but no thanks.”

Korrine smirked, putting her hands on her hips.  “Excuse you… first of all, I’m not married yet.  And just what exactly is wrong with me setting you up?”

Charlie mimicked Korri’s stance, putting her hands on her own hips, and quirking her eyebrow.  “Semantics, and hussy, don’t act like you don’t remember Billy Hall in high school. And I quote ‘he’s just a little bit shy, but he’s so sweet and nice.  I think you will just love him.’  Shy my ass.  He tried to grope me the entire date.  I had to damn near mace that asshole.”

Korri held her hands up in defeat, but her eyes were filled with amusement and her face split into a wide grin.  “That was one time, he had us all fooled.  Nobody would’ve guessed he was a groper.  Plus, you know Jake.  He’s a great guy I think you should give him a shot.”

Jacob Cameron was Korri’s fiancé’s cousin.  He owned his own business, was intelligent and funny, and he was one of the sexiest men Charlie had ever seen.  He was six-foot five and built like a Mack truck.  His arms alone were enough to make a grown woman cry, muscular and strong and covered in tattoos.  They were the type of arms that made you long to be wrapped in his embrace.  And that was only one part of his body. 

Charlie grunted.  She knew Jake was a good guy, but their previous encounters made Charlie realize that there was something about him that scared the hell out of her.  It was probably the way he could just look at her with his steamy emerald gaze, so she had to make sure her panties didn’t disintegrate from her lust, but she would never let her meddling cousin know that.  “Well it only takes one time to fool me.  So again,
no thanks
.”

Korri laughed as she exited the kitchen.  “Suit yourself, but you will come to your senses sooner or later.”

“Whatever, and why are you all in my business?  Don’t you have better things to do like… I don’t know, plan a wedding?”  Charlie yelled at Korri’s back as she walked away.  Charlie laughed as she turned back to the counter to complete her task of making her world famous brownies.