Then he opens the door to Uncle Jerm’s office, I walk in and he closes it behind me. I take the CD out of my purse and sit on the sofa. I lean my head on the arm of the sofa and sigh.
I’ll just rest my eyes for a moment.
***
My eyes flutter open and I see Uncle Jerm sitting behind his desk, leaning to the side with a hand over his eyes.
The CD I brought with me is gone. I jerk and Uncle Jerm looks up.
He doesn’t look happy. Not that I thought he would be happy about my visit. His nephew wants him dead, for god sake!
I begin to speak but Uncle Jerm cuts me off with a firm, “Damn fool of a woman!”
Well, that’s not quite what I was expecting.
He continues, “Do you realize the danger you’ve put yourself in? Nik is going to be livid. I am livid. Of all the things you could’ve done, this was the dumbest.”
And that’s when I burst into tears.
My body shakes with sobs and I croak, “He wants to kill you, Jermaine. He wants Nik to hurt. I—I—I didn’t know what else to do. I heard Nik say you needed evidence that Omarr was recruiting and now you have it. So, do something!” I shake and whisper, “Please do something. I can’t lose Nik.” I cover my face with my hands and weep.
Uncle Jerm pulls my hands from my face and kneels before me. He wipes tears from my cheeks and assures, “Omarr isn’t a concern anymore, child.” My body slumps back with relief. He continues, “As of ten minutes ago, Omarr has a price on his head.”
Oh, no!
I stammer, “B—B—But I thought you would get him some help!” My face pales and I whisper shout. “I didn’t want him dead, Jermaine!”
He shakes his head slowly and answers me softly, “Tina, Omarr isn’t right. Think of it this way, it’s you and Nik or it’s him. And be warned, he will come after you. He will find out about this, baby girl. I know you had good intentions but it was crazy. Straightjackets, padded rooms, out of your damn mind, crazy. You feel me?”
If I pale any more I’ll be transparent.
What have I done?
Uncle Jerm smirks, “But, by god, you’ve got a set of balls on you.” Then he sobers and says, “We got to tell Nik about this.”
I nod.
That should be fun.
***
The CD Uncle Jerm had expressed to The White Rabbit plays on my computer. I sit at my desk and listen.
My insides dip.
I’m not quite sure what I’m hearing.
“Sure, just so we both know what we are dealing with. I continue to work Nik and once I’m paid, I’m yours. But you have to back off. I can’t be distracted. You want Nik hurt and I’ll hurt him, baby. For you, I’ll do anything.” No mistaking it. That’s my girl.
It can’t be.
No.
No.
Fuck no.
This can’t be happening.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The great misunderstanding of 2013
Uncle Jerm wouldn’t let me leave the warehouse he calls the factory until I had some coffee and breakfast with him. I’m glad he persuaded me. I probably would’ve passed out half way to The White Rabbit from exhaustion.
Upon departing, Uncle Jerm pulled me into a warm hug and told me, “You saved my life, Tina, which means I owe you. Big. If you need anything from this old man, just call.” He gives me his business card and I slip it into my purse.
Which brings us to now. I stand out front of The White Rabbit.
My heart races and my stomach knots.
I’m going to have to tell Nik everything. And he is not going to like it. My previous experiences tell me I should be honest with Nik but I am petrified of what his reaction might be. I close my eyes and breathe deep.
Nik will understand. He has to.
I compose myself as much as I can and make my way to Nik’s office. Just before I get there I’m greeted by a mad looking Max. He puts his hand up and says, “Don’t go in there, Tina.”
My feet stomp past him and I respond urgently, “Don’t try to stop me this time, Max. I have to see Nik right now. I don’t care if he’s busy and hiding out. This is priority. It’s important.” And I barge into Nik’s office.
Nik sits behind his desk staring into nothing. I approach and he stands up. Half way there I smile and say, “Hey, honey.”
His eyes turn cold and he says, “Nik loves me, O. He’ll give me anything and everything I want. I just have to hook him a little more.”
My face pales and my heart clenches.
He’s already heard the CD. Which means Uncle Jerm sent it over.
I begin, “I…”
But Nik cuts me off with a quiet, “Stop.” He looks hurt. I never wanted to hurt him. I thought he’d understand why I thought I had to do this.
He continues just as quietly, “Never thought I’d be one of those schmuks. I thought I did a good job of protecting myself from women like you.” There is a fist around my heart and it squeezes tight. He goes on, “But you…You really got in there. With my family and friends, too. You went the whole nine yards.” He laughs acidly. “Who the fuck sends candy to a guy?!”
I do.
My heart is breaking. Nik thinks I played him.
I try to explain, “Please, Nik. Let me exp…”
He cuts me off with a hard, “No.”
My face bunches and I start crying. I hyperventilate, cover my cheeks with my hands and yell, “Let me explain!”
He shakes his head and I croak a desperate, “It’s just a misunderstanding, baby.”
Nik’s face steels and he whispers viciously, “Don’t say another fucking word.” He looks down and says, “You were my world. My everything. You really had me fooled. It was all just a game to you. A job. Never thought I’d end up with a woman like you. I loved you. Never believed I deserved you. But now that I know the real you, I don’t want you. So this works out okay. Another lesson learned.”
Sobbing, I walk up to him and choke, “I love you, Nik.”
He doesn’t look at me when he replies coldly, “Yeah, well, I don’t love you.”
My heart shatters. I feel extremely light headed.
What have I done?
Nik moves passed me and nudges my body with his passing shoulder. In my weak state, the nudge feels more like a push. I stumble back and my heel catches. I fall. My back, shoulder and head hit the corner of his desk. Hard.
I sit on the floor a moment and mouth, “Ow.”
Before I know what’s happening Max walks in. He takes in my weak form on the floor then Nik’s hard face. He storms up to Nik and gets right in his face and yells, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Get it under control, Nik.”
I take this as my cue to get the hell out of there. Max continues to yell into Nik’s face.
I crawl forward a few steps, stand unsteadily, and catch my breath.