Pastor Needs a Boo (32 page)

Camille sighed heavily. She did not want Xavier to know who her new man was. But she was not in the mood to fight with him. She said, “It's Conrad Wilcher.”

Before Xavier could catch himself he ran over to Camille and knocked her off the love seat. He snatched at the collar on her new shirt and pulled her face up close to his. Camille was so angry that she almost forgot to be afraid.

“Why Conrad Wilcher, Camille? Wasn't it bad enough you were with Jimmy? What is wrong with you?”

“Why not Conrad? Who do you think you are to tell me who to date? Conrad…”

“Is my head trustee and you are having an affair with him behind my back! That's what's wrong with Conrad, Camille.”

“Well, for starters, I am not having an affair with Conrad, I just like to text and screw him. And second, it's not behind your back, because I just told you.”

“How could you?”

“How could I? HOW COULD I? How could I not? Conrad is better in bed than you, Ramon, and Jimmy put together.”

Xavier wanted to punch Camille. But he just turned her loose. Conrad Wilcher was a loser. Ramon had just been broke. But he'd never been a loser. Conrad wasn't about anything. He could not believe Camille was sleeping around with Conrad on the side when she was supposed to be going with that butt-ugly Jimmy.

“Camille,” Xavier said in a serious voice. “I approved of your relationship with Ramon. I stomached your relationship with Jimmy. But you cannot be with Conrad. I'm ordering you to break it off with him.”

“Okay,” Camille told him cheerfully. “I'll be happy to do that when you tell your skank her services are no longer needed.”

“I'm not living without Tatiana,” Xavier said, in a tight and very mean voice. “She is the most wonderful woman I've ever met. No woman compares to Tatiana.”

Camille looked at Xavier like he was crazier than he was. She said, “I don't know what you've been smoking. But you might want to try and clear your head long enough to understand that you can't tell me who I can't date and then insist on hanging on to Trashiana.”

“I will, I can, and I did just tell you who you cannot be with, Camille. Now, I'm asking you one last time. When are you ditching Conrad?”

“If I ditch him, it will be because I found a new man. And right now, Conrad is the only man I want. You act like I can't just walk out of this door and get myself another man. I can go to the grocery store and pull that off.”

Xavier wanted to dispute that point but knew he'd better leave it alone. He didn't know what men saw in his wife, because she was never without a man. Camille had a man on the side the first time she found out he cheated on her.

“So when are you breaking up with Conrad? When are you getting us a spot for the dance contest at New Jerusalem? And when are you calling your lawyer to call off filing divorce papers?”

Camille was shocked. How in the world did Xavier know that? Her lawyer was one of the most discreet folks in Raleigh. Plus, his retainer was so high, he knew better than to risk losing her as a client.

Xavier was cracking up. That look on Camille's face was priceless. He said, “Baby, I'm not playing with you. I have resources, and I know about the meeting with your attorney. So be a good girl and do exactly as I tell you, so this will not get ugly. We are not getting a divorce. You are breaking it off with Conrad. And we are going to that
Dancing with the Stars
mess Denzelle Flowers is all pumped-up about.”

“If I have to live with Tatiana being in your life, you have to live with Conrad being in mine. So please quit bugging me about my man. I'll get rid of Conrad when I'm good and ready.

“Xavier, I know your dancing is piss poor. But I will get our tickets and find a way to get us a spot in that competition. And, for the record—I can't stand you, and this divorce is going through.”

“I'm stopping the divorce, Camille,” Xavier said quietly.

“Over my dead body.”

Xavier really wished she had not said that. Luther had made it clear that Camille had to get with the program, or else. Xavier felt a dull ache in his chest. As much as Camille got on his nerves, he didn't want Luther to put a hit on her. He wished it could be different. But she was the one who drew a line in the sand. Running for bishop was a trip. Who would have ever thought it would come to something like this?

 

Chapter Twenty-three

“What about Todd, Luther?”

He put his hands behind his head and stared up at the beautiful evening sky. They were lying in a great big hammock in Key West, Florida, watching the sun go to its final rest. It looked like the sun was being dipped into the ocean by some huge invisible hand. As much as Luther wanted to answer Tatiana's question, he didn't want to talk until the sun went down.

He brought Tatiana down to Key West with him because he thought she would appreciate some of the real finer things in life—things you couldn't buy, like a breathtaking sunset. But, unfortunately, Tatiana Townsend was just like his other women. That was a big disappointment to Luther. He had a secret hope she would be different somehow. He didn't understand why his women weren't able to enjoy simple things like the sun displaying blues and pinks and soft purples across the sky.

Luther loved the way color was displayed in natural ways. He grew up wanting to be a painter but had to surrender that dream to please his father and grandfather. His mother had been an incredible artist. His father had been one of the best defense lawyers in the West Indies. His grandfather had been a judge.

His father and grandfather always insisted that Luther's mother was so good at her craft because his father earned so much money defending the indefensible. It was the money, his grandfather insisted, that made it possible for his mother to have the time and supplies needed to make art. Luther always felt he might have become a better man had he been allowed to study art when he was accepted to the Sorbonne when he was young.

Tatiana pushed at Luther's rock-hard shoulder. He had the firmest, most ripped body of any man she'd ever been with. And even though she was desperately in love with Xavier, few men could compare to Luther and his skills. Tatiana couldn't believe her good fate when Luther called and invited her down to his condo in Key West for a weekend-long business meeting.

She pushed at Luther's shoulder again. He grabbed her wrist so hard she could feel it bruising and swelling. He said, “Push me again and I'm going to break it.”

Tatiana had never known a violent man. She couldn't even process the chill that went through her body when he grabbed her and said that. Luther's voice was so calm and regular sounding, he could have been asking her to pour him a glass of sweet tea.

When the sun was gone, he swung out of the hammock so fast, Tatiana almost toppled onto the balcony's concrete floor. She barely managed to get her balance, stood up, and followed Luther back into the condo. He poured himself a shot of some superexpensive Russian vodka from somewhere near the Caspian Sea, where Russia and Iran met up with each other. He pulled out another shot glass and was about to pour Tatiana some but stopped.

“I forgot,” Luther said. “You are a terrible drinker.” He poured himself another shot of the vodka. “Too bad you can't drink this. It is smooth as silk.”

Luther downed one of the shots and said, “You wanted to know about Todd.”

Tatiana nodded. She had been on pins and needles since stepping off of Luther's private jet to find out how he was going to get rid of her husband. She had known what kind of payment was required for a deal like this, and came prepared to rock Luther Howard's world.

“Here is your contact for the hit, Tatiana,” Luther told her.

“I have to make the contact?” Tatiana asked incredulously. It had never occurred to her that she would be forced to become involved in Todd's death. She had wanted this to be neat and distant.

“You cannot have your cake and eat it, too, Tatiana,” Luther said. “I will not be involved in a hit you have nothing to do with. You really believe I would have a hand in this without your initials on it? I don't want or need you to get a conscience and talk to the feds.

“Remember, your ex is a retired FBI agent. You might want an old times' sake booty call with the brother and get diarrhea of the mouth during some pillow-talk time. This way, you'll watch your mouth. That way I won't be burdened with the blood of three hits on my hands.

“Three?” Tatiana asked. “There's only Todd…” She gasped.

“No, it will be Todd, Denzelle, and you if you stray from my instructions in any way,” Luther said, in that same calm voice he'd used while grabbing her arm.

She wondered what it felt like to be able to be so calm and nonchalant about having people killed—especially people you knew. The only thing was, as bad and scary as Luther was, she didn't think he could take down Denzelle Flowers. Her ex-husband had been a bad boy in his day. Based on what she'd witnessed, he was still a bad boy, and very deadly, too. Tatiana hoped her face didn't betray her

“What's wrong? You think I can't take on the big, bad Agent Flowers?” Luther asked, with a whole lot more bravado than he felt. He honestly didn't know if he could take out Denzelle. There was something unnerving about going after a man of God who was also a man of the law—and had a mean streak and some scripture to back it all up. That was a scary dude in Luther Howard's policy and protocol handbook.

“Luther, you are the kind of man that few wise men would want to have to face off with. And that includes my ex,” Tatiana told him truthfully. The reason Denzelle was so deadly was because he always respected his adversaries. Denzelle never underestimated anybody. About the only person who had gotten by him was Tatiana.

Luther liked what Tatiana said. She may not have enjoyed the sunset the way he'd hoped, but Tatiana did know what to say to a man. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He buried his nose in the nape of her neck and inhaled her perfume.

“You know you smell lovely.”

Tatiana looked back at Luther and smiled. At first she'd been excited about a daring weekend with the rich and dangerous Luther Howard. Now she wished she could be with Xavier.

Luther sensed the change in Tatiana immediately. He said, “Xavier is at a church conference with Camille trying to make it look like they are the happy couple. So you might as well forget about your man this weekend and love the one you're with.”

He felt her tense up even more. Only this time it was due to hurt and anger with Xavier. Luther let go of Tatiana and moved away from her. She needed a few minutes of space to reel in her emotions and pull herself back together. Women just needed time when they heard that their man was all up on another woman—even when the other woman was the man's own wife. He was a good trial lawyer and always knew when to back off of a witness right before going in for the kill.

Tatiana's phone buzzed.

“Hey, Baby!” she said to Todd, hoping to sound happy to hear from him.

“How are you doing, Sweet Thing?” Todd asked, hoping this phone call would not be too long.

He had been happy and relieved when Tatiana told him she was going to a workshop to get certification as a telephone triage nurse. She'd only recently gotten a certification in emergency room care, and would soon be qualified to train nurses in this area. Todd had cheerfully paid for all of these workshops, because he knew Tatiana would need to earn more money when he finally filed for his divorce.

Todd had given Tatiana a generous payout in the prenup agreement. But he knew his wife loved money and status and would drag out the divorce if she didn't have a way to earn extra money doing something she loved.

Todd Townsend had been planning this divorce every since he met Shanna Webster, who was a cardiology resident at Duke. It was the introduction to Shanna that helped Todd make his decision to take the job at Duke Medical Center. He had been mesmerized by Shanna's lovely red hair and the fact that she was practically a dead ringer for the actress Debra Messing in the movie
The Wedding Date
. Todd couldn't believe his woman looked like a very pale brown version of one of his favorite actresses.

“The workshop was the best, Todd,” Tatiana told him in earnest. She really had gone to a workshop to get certification as a telephone triage nurse, and was looking forward to completing her training. But that workshop had been for only one day. Tatiana told her husband she would be in training for a week.

Tatiana had always been a good liar. But she perfected that skill after listening to Denzelle's FBI agent stories about criminals who were proficient at lying. The best liars always put a good dose of the truth in their stories. That way they had a better chance of coming across as authentic. What Tatiana didn't know was that the best liars were the ones like her husband, Todd—the ones who were so slick and sneaky you never even suspected they were involved in something that would require a high level of lying.

“Well, you just enjoy Miami for a few extra days, Sweetheart. Get some good shopping in and relax.”

“You sure you don't need me back home, Babe?” Tatiana asked, hoping the answer was no. She loved Miami and Key West.

“No, love. I'll be here plugging away making money to pay for all of that good stuff I know you'll buy.”

“Okay,” Tatiana said and blew a kiss in the telephone.

Todd pushed end on his phone and looked toward the bathroom door. He loved Shanna's house in Durham's old-school Hope Valley neighborhood. It was small and homey and lovely. Todd felt so good every time he walked through the door and said, “Honey, I'm home.”

Shanna came out wearing a new bra and thong set. The salmon-colored lace set off her pale brown skin and shimmering red hair. Todd studied Shanna's hair for a minute. It occurred to him that it was a very good weave. Tatiana had taught him well. A weave always had some minor puffiness on hair that should have been lying real flat on a woman's head.