Savannah's Curse (5 page)

Authors: Shelia M. Goss

BOOK: Savannah's Curse

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Savannah marveled at the beautiful landscaping outside Troy's two-story brick home. She remained silent as he pulled into a three-car garage. The lights turned on, revealing a black sports car and a white sedan. Troy reached the passenger door before she could exit. The loud sound of the closing garage door almost drowned out her voice as she said, “Thanks.”

“Glad to be of service.”

Troy led her inside, into a spacious kitchen. “You live alone?” she asked.

“Most of the time,” Troy responded.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Savannah didn't mean to ask her question out loud.

“The lady cares,” Troy said as he deactivated his alarm. “Are you hungry?”

“No, I just want to lie down,” Savannah responded.

“You can have my room,” he volunteered.

“I'm sure with a big old house like this, you have a guest room.”

“I do, but you're more than just a guest.” The way his words seemed to fall sensuously out of his mouth caught Savannah by surprise.

Savannah half listened to Troy as they walked through the house. She admired the artwork on the walls. A beautiful gold-trimmed chandelier hung above the winding staircase. The temptation to remove her shoes and walk barefoot on the thick plush carpet almost overtook her.

Troy opened the door to a room twice as big as her bedroom. Savannah assumed Troy's favorite color was black, because the entire room's decor was ebony furniture and accessories. On the thick comforter an illustration of a black panther with piercing eyes stared back at her. She was so tired, that all she wanted to do was plop down on the bed.

Savannah gasped as she saw her sweaty reflection staring back at her from the dresser mirror. “I hate to bother you, but if you have a T-shirt or something I can borrow until tomorrow. I want to take a bath before calling it a night.”

“I'm one step ahead of you,” Troy responded. He removed a black-and-gold T-shirt with the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl emblem across the front.

She frowned because she was a Dallas Cowboys fan. “It figures. I need some towels too.”

“Did anyone ever tell you, you were bossy?”

“My sisters tell me that all of the time,” Savannah said as she followed him to the master bathroom.

Savannah's eyes bucked when she saw two sinks trimmed in sterling silver and “his and her” toilets. What impressed Savannah the most was the deep tub, which seemed to be calling her name.

“Here are your towels and some soap. If you need anything else, just yell,” Troy stated before exiting the bathroom.

Savannah smiled for the first time since being ousted out of her house. “I think I got it from here.”

She waited for him to exit and locked the door as soon as the door was closed.

“I'm not going to bother you,” Troy said loudly.

The steam from the hot bathwater fogged up the windows. Savannah thought about the events that transpired in the past twenty-four hours. Her muscles relaxed, releasing the tension throughout her body as she eased herself into the hot, bubbly water.

She leaned back and closed her eyes. Was she in over her head? Should she give up her quest to find her dad's killer? Who were the people who broke into her house? What were they looking for? It dawned on her that she left the folder with the information in a secret compartment within the fireplace. She hoped they didn't look there. She hid it when she was trying to get rid of the information when Troy first arrived.

The knock on the door broke Savannah out of her deep thoughts.

“Just checking to make sure you're okay in there,” Troy spoke firmly so she could hear.

“I'm fine. I'll be out soon.”

The water's cool temperature alerted Savannah that she had been in the bath a long time and jolted her awake. She took her time getting out of the tub. Her body signaled she was more tired than she imagined. Not trying to be nosy, she searched through the cabinets in search of a tube of deodorant. A cabinet could tell a lot about a person. She noticed many hygiene products and cleaning products. She picked up an unopened box of condoms before throwing it back onto the shelf. Her search was not in vain. She located a new tube of deodorant and rubbed some under her arms.

Savannah pulled the long black T-shirt Troy had given her over her head. She cringed at the sight of her unruly curly hair tossed across her head. Standing before the mirror, she braided her hair into one long braid before exiting the bathroom. Troy was nowhere around. The bed was turned down and there was a glass and a bottle of water on a tray by the bed. She opened the seal of the bottle and took a sip. The soft bed welcomed her, and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.

Savannah didn't know how long she had been asleep. When she woke up, she felt out of place.
Where am I? Why am I in a strange bed?
It took her a few seconds to gather her senses. The memory from last night rushed back to her. She jumped out of bed, looking for her clothes. Although they were not clean, it was all she had to put on. To her surprise they were washed and dried and folded up, placed on a chair on the opposite end of the bed.

“When did he find the time?” she asked out loud.

She pulled the clothes up to her nose and inhaled the freshly washed scent. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Are you up?” Troy asked.

“I'll be dressed in a minute,” she responded.

She placed the Saints T-shirt on the chair. When she opened the door, Troy was nowhere to be found. She called out his name a few times but didn't get a response. She wandered down the hall and leaned on the rail. She stopped to admire the downstairs view from the banister.

Troy walked in view and looked up. “I cooked a big breakfast, just in case you're hungry.”

Savannah was starving. Her growling stomach would have betrayed her if she tried to deny it. Troy waited for her at the end of the stairway.

“Thanks for washing my clothes,” Savannah said.

“You're quite welcome. Your food awaits,” he said as he extended his arm.

Savannah wrapped her arm through his and allowed him to guide her into the kitchen. “This smells good. I don't know where to begin.”

Savannah and Troy ate without talking about last night's events. Savannah stood to clear the table. Troy said, “Don't worry about the dishes. I got it.”

“Butâ”

“No buts. You're a guest.”

“But last night you saidâ”

“Speaking of last night,” Troy said as he took the dishes from the table to the sink. “I think you better call your sisters. Montana left a message on my phone about the cops calling her. She sounded a little frantic, so it was hard to make out exactly what she said.”

Savannah frowned. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“You needed to eat.”

Savannah saw the phone near the door. “After I find out what's going on, I need you to take me home immediately.”

Troy saluted her. “Yes, ma'am.”

Troy had no right to make decisions for her. He should have told her about Montana's call. Savannah tried to calm down while waiting for Montana to answer her cell phone. She was unsuccessful reaching her. The call went to voice mail. She dialed Asia's number. She watched Troy clean up the kitchen as she nervously tapped her foot. “Asia, what's going on?”

Before Asia could respond, Montana's voice rang out from the other end. “The police said the house looked a mess. We've been trying to reach you. Neither one of us has slept a wink worried about you.”

“I told you I was fine. Look, don't go over to the house. Give me the number of the officer you spoke with and I'll take it from here.”

“I want you to know I called Uncle Raymond.”

“Montana, I told you I got this.”

“He's out of the country right now. But as soon as he calls me back, I'm telling him everything.”

“Don't. I need you to trust me. Do not say anything to him or anybody else. Please,” Savannah pleaded.

“This is too much,” Montana responded.

“Let me talk to Asia,” Savannah stated.

“Sis, what's going on?” Asia asked. “We've been worried sick about you.”

“I need you to convince Montana not to talk to Uncle Raymond. I'm not saying he had anything to do with Dad's death, but he works for The Agency. He might be the enemy.”

“I can't promise you she'll listen to me, but I'll do my best,” Asia promised.

Troy watched Savannah frantically pace side to side as she talked to her sisters. He knew he should have told her before breakfast about the message, but neither he nor she had had much sleep, and he wanted her to be relaxed for at least a few minutes. Selfishly he wanted to enjoy some uninterrupted time with her.

I need to get a grip. That's why I don't like mixing business with pleasure.
Truth be told, he knew from the moment he laid eyes on Savannah again, he needed her. Troy wanted her like he needed oxygen.

He told Savannah almost everything.

He purposely left out the fact that Major made him promise to watch out for Savannah and her sisters if anything happened to him. He recalled their last conversation as if Major had a premonition of his death.

They met at a local diner and talked over coffee. Troy could hear Major's voice as if he said it yesterday. “There's a rat in The Agency who has been getting some of the other operatives killed.”

“Are you sure? I know we have a few hotheadsâmyself includedâbut a rat? Major, that's serious.”

Major pulled out a small brown envelope. He checked his surroundings before sliding it to Troy under the table. Troy took it and slipped it into his pant pocket without anyone being the wiser.

“Take a look at it, and then let me know what you think.”

“I will, but I don't think you have anything to worry about,” Troy said in between bites.

“I'm counting on you to take care of my daughters, especially Savannah.”

“Do your girls know about me?” Troy asked.

“No, I've tried to keep as much of my job from them as possible.”

“Maybe you should tell at least one of them, so it won't be a surprise.”

“Son, you handle your business and I'll handle mine. Understood?” Major asked.

“Yes, sir.”

Troy never brought it up again. He assumed that Major would be around and die a natural death. He didn't expect foul play to be the end of his friend and ex-boss.

“Troy, one more thing. When are you going to make things right with my daughter?” Major asked.

Troy was caught totally off guard. Up until this point he assumed Major didn't know about his connection to Savannah. He stuttered, “I'm n-not the right man for her.”

“Let me be the judge of that. From what I see, you're the only man whom I feel worthy of being with my daughter.”

“But, sir, you don't understand. There's no way Savannah would take me back.”

Major looked him in the eyes. “When the time is right, Savannah will welcome you back into her life.”

Troy hadn't believed Major then, but now he did have some hope. Savannah wasn't throwing things at him or cursing him out, so maybe, just maybe, he had a chance of winning Savannah's heart again.

“Earth to Troy.” Savannah tapped him on his shoulder.

“Sorry, my mind was a million miles away.”

“Whatever. I need you to take me home.”

“Before you go home, we need to talk.”

“We can talk in the car,” Savannah responded.

“Give me a few minutes and we can leave.”

“While you're doing that, I have one more phone call to make.” Savannah dismissed him as if he weren't there.

While Savannah made her phone call, Troy went to his safe and removed some items that he hoped he wouldn't need. Just in case they ran into some trouble, he wanted to be safe and not regret anything later.

Troy returned to the room. “Let's go,” he said.

Savannah followed him into the garage. He opened her door and before long they were headed to Savannah's.

Savannah didn't hesitate to reach over and turn his radio to another station.

“I wish you wouldn't do that,” he said.

“Bad habit” was all Savannah would say.

“Let's make a deal. When we're in your car, we'll listen to your music. While we're in mine, we'll listen to what I want.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. He could see her lips turn into a slight smile. It was just like old times. Maybe the ice was breaking. Savannah didn't say anything; instead, she turned and looked out the window. Troy felt like he achieved a small victory. They missed rushhour traffic by an hour, so Troy made it to her house in record time.

Before he could bring the car to a complete stop in her driveway, Savannah had opened her door. She rushed to the African American policeman's side. Troy parked the car and jumped out to catch up with her.

“I'm Officer Nash and that's my partner, Officer Pendleton.”

Officer Pendleton, a man who was one doughnut short of being overweight, addressed Troy. “Can we see some identificationâ”

“I don't think all of that's necessary,” Savannah interrupted. “He's a friend of mine.”

Officer Pendleton looked at Nash for approval. “Fine. Let's go inside for a moment.”

Savannah didn't need a key to get in because the front door was unlocked. She gasped when she saw everything thrown in the various rooms.

Troy did his best to support her by not letting her from his side.

“Your neighbor gave us descriptions of two guys who stopped by here yesterday morning,” Officer Nash stated.

“I didn't get a good look at them. All I can tell you is they were in a black sedan.”

Officer Pendleton asked, “Why didn't you call us?”

“I don't mean to be disrespectful, Officer, but the emergency alert you received was my way of communicating. I set it off before getting my butt quickly out of the house.”

“I got this,” Officer Nash said to his partner. He turned to face Savannah. “Do you think you can tell us everything you remember from last night?”

Savannah recited last night's event, excluding the information about their exact escape.

After the officers left, Savannah stood in the doorway and didn't move. Troy felt compelled to reach out to her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her until she got the strength to start the cleanup process.

He kissed the top of her head. “You're not in this alone.”

“I don't even know where to begin.”

“You take upstairs and I'll take the downstairs and we'll meet up somewhere in the middle,” Troy said, attempting to lighten up the situation.

“You're sure you're not an angel. One minute I want to hit you, and the next minute I want to give you a hug.”

“I'll take the hug,” Troy responded.

Savannah wiped her teary eyes. “Just put stuff back, the best you can. I'll do a thorough cleanup later.”

Before they could act on their cleanup duty, the doorknob turned. Troy pushed Savannah behind him as he removed his gun. Asia and Montana walked in at the same moment Troy had unlocked the safety and was ready to shoot.

“Man, you guys could have been killed!” Savannah shouted. She walked past Troy and hugged her sisters.

“We weren't going to let you deal with this by yourself. This is our problem too,” Montana said, not once loosening her hug.

Troy watched the encounter. “Ladies, I don't mean to impose, but you might want to close the door.”

Asia was the first to leave the group hug. “This place is a mess,” she said as she walked past them all.

“We were just about to straighten up.” Savannah closed and locked the door.

“Help is here.” Montana picked up pillows off the floor as she talked. “Troy, it's good seeing you again.”

“Same here. Just wish it were under other circumstances.”

“I know what you mean,” Asia responded.

Savannah and Troy took the downstairs, while Montana and Asia cleaned upstairs. Troy did a thorough sweep for bugging devices and was relieved to find none.

“I'm sure they'll be back. The information they were looking for was here.” Savannah made a beeline to the fireplace. She reached her hand up the chimney and removed some folders.

“When did you have time to do that?” Troy asked out of curiosity.

“A lady can never reveal all of her secrets.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled.

“I'm just glad they didn't break anything,” Montana stated as she walked into the room.

“It could have been worse.”
One of us could have been killed,
Savannah thought.

“I don't know about y'all, but I've worked up an appetite.” Troy rubbed his stomach. “What do you ladies like? I'll go pick us up something.”

After taking their orders, Troy heard Montana say, “I like him. He's a keeper.”

He didn't wait to hear what Savannah's response would be.