TWO
“Hello?” Tiana Jonas said into her cell phone. Only silence replied. “Hello?” She heard breathing now. “Stop calling me!” With that, she punched the End Call button and answered her front door someone was knocking on. “I’m coming. Hold on.”
Tiana rubbed her temples hoping to make the instant headache go away. It seemed like everything was happening at once.
Her godmother Roberta Callis suffered from dementia. It was worse every day. It was hard to visit her knowing there were days she barely remembered Tiana. Then there was the website she couldn’t figure out. She felt like she bothered her tech rep all day. And now these damn phone calls where no one spoke, but they were there on the line.
She opened her front door to the most beautiful she had the honor of knowing. There stood her neighbor and good friend.
“So, what are you doing?” Shae Green asked, tossing herself on the sofa and shoving a pillow under her head.
“Not much,” she sighed. “I'm a bit stressed with the fact I'm getting these calls.” She shut the door and went to the kitchen to make coffee. Shae loved her some coffee in the morning. Judging by the way she was snuggling into Tiana's sofa, she might fall asleep right there.
“You know what you need to do,” Shae yelled from the living room in her no-nonsense attitude. “Get some signal tracing service. See what stupid motherfucker is doing that shit.”
Tiana grabbed two cups of coffee exactly how both women liked and went back to keep Shae company. “I've thought about it. But it’s so difficult with everything involved.”
“Yeah,” Shae snorted, sitting up to grab her cup of coffee. “But clearly, some idiot is trying to scare the crap out of you.” Shae sipped her drink and gave Tiana a direct look. “This is why I don't do none of that scary shit. Black people don't handle those situations well. If some jerk is thinking I'm going to put up with weird calls and photos and shit, he's going to find out the hard way I have a concealed carry permit.”
Tiana bit her lip. “I don't like weapons.”
Shae raised her brows. “You're only going to use it in case of an emergency.”
“I know, but still.” She sat and stared at her friend. Shae was already dressed for work in a navy suit and black pumps. She had to be one of the most perfect women she'd ever had as a friend. Unlike Tiana, Shae was slim and athletic. She had dark brown skin with a beautiful glow from all the lotions and expensive things she used to keep herself looking young.
And young, she definitely looked. Almost forty years old but had the skin, face, and body of a twenty-year-old. Meanwhile, Tiana was twenty-six and her students thought she was a bit older than her age. Even the other teachers treated her like she'd been teaching forever.
“That necklace looks amazing with your eyes,” Tiana said, changing the subject. Shae had an amber necklace that made her hazel eyes look almost yellow.
“Thank you. It was a gift from Derek.”
Tiana grinned at the way Shae said his name. Like she disliked admitting her on-again, off-again boyfriend had given her something so thoughtful. They had such a strange relationship.
“Well, he did great. You know, this might be the first gift he has given you that is this amazing.”
Shae rolled her eyes. “I know. But enough about me.” A bright, predatory gleam took over her eyes. “Tell me about Ker Sexy Voice Drachen.”
Tiana groaned, put her cup on the coffee table and leaned back. “Come on.”
“No, you come on, Tiana. The last episode of this soap opera you were telling me what a sexy voice he has.” She sat up straighter and winked. “I believe your words were, ‘he talks so damn sexy, my panties get wet listening to him.’ That's not an everyday occurrence, let me tell you. That's some powerful voice right there.”
“Stop.”
“No. Have you decided if you're going to get laid in this lifetime?”
“Shae!”
“What?” she asked with an innocent shrug. “You haven't had sex. Ever. I think it's about time someone rocked your world. This Ker Sexy Voice Drachen seems to be the perfect man for the job.”
“I haven't even met in him person!”
“Again, so?” Shae guzzled the rest of her coffee. “You need to start doing things to make you happy. Your ex was a dick. He thought he owned you. I mean, he had the nerve to say if he couldn't have you, nobody could. That's some get your ass whooped and thrown in jail shit right there.”
She knew that. She wished she could get Oliver out of her life. But the reality was that once she broke up with him, that's when the strange calls started. That's when the untraceable emails began.
“I haven't spoken to Oliver in months.”
“That doesn't mean he let go of you.”
“So, what do I do?” Her stomach knotted. She hated thinking the worst, but she might need personal protection. Not in the form of a weapon, but maybe she would see about bodyguards. She wasn't scared of being attacked. That was the least of her worries. She'd taken enough self-defense to be able to kick some serious ass. But still, she didn't want to think that Oliver was the one person who would do this to her. Why would he want to hurt her? Or scare her?
“You also need to remember that if you do start dating Ker, Oliver might get really crazy. So maybe tell Ker about this guy ahead of time. So he can be on the lookout, you know?”
“Again, I haven't even met Ker in person. Why would you think we're going to date?”
Shae laughed and shook her head. Like what she'd said was a joke. “Honey, you talk about him every single day. There is no way you won't end up seeing him. Even if it's only a couple dates, something will come out of this. He is making you too excited and you don't know how to handle it.”
Dammit! She hated when Shae saw right through her. Ker did make her think of falling in love. Of having a man who cared in her life. None of her exes did. They all preteneded, at first. But in time, she realized all they wanted was a trophy. Her virginity. Once they saw she wasn't going there, they usually broke things off and moved on.
They weren't willing to work long-term for her to give that up. Oliver had been different. He'd lasted a full year. In that time, he'd gotten more possessive. More demanding of her time. Telling her what to wear. Who to go out with. When to be home. It got so horribly stressful when he started waiting outside her office, just to see when she got out of work. To make sure she was telling him the truth.
That had been the last straw. She broke things off. He'd been angry, so angry at first, but she stood her ground and didn't let him scare her. And it seemed to work. He left and hadn't returned. The last thing he'd told her was that if he couldn't have her, nobody else could. All the crazy shit started after that. There had been no sign of Oliver, but he had managed to make her think of him even though she wasn't sure he was the one behind the texts, the call, or the emails.
“I'm thinking of going away a few days,” she told Shae.
“With sexy Ker?” Shae grinned.
“No! By myself.”
“Come on, Tiana.” Shae groaned. “Just wait a few weeks. When I’m taking my vacation, we can both take a girls’ trip and it will be a mind cleanse for you.”
“You know I go by the school schedule. We have next week off. I think it's probably best that I go now and try to get this out of my mind. It's probably not even a big deal.”
Shae's smile fell from her lips and she frowned. “There's something you're not telling me.”
“Shae,” she groaned.
“Don't you Shae me. I know my name is Shae. What you need to tell me is why you are so ready to go on a break when you don't have anyone to go with. You didn't even have plans to go anywhere.”
Her heartbeat doubled and a sick sensation grew at the pit of her stomach. That was the reason. That feeling of dread. Like something horrible was coming and she didn't want to be there for it. “I just need a break. I really think that now that I can do this, I should.”
“Where will you go, Florida?”
She winced and shook her head. She didn't visit her godmother as often as she used to. It broke her heart every time she went and the woman who raised her didn't remember her anymore.
“No. I was thinking of renting a cabin or something. Going upstate and doing some hiking.”
Shae nodded. “Those are all great ideas. Except, you don't like hiking, you don't like cabins. You have told me every time we watch a scary movie that this wouldn't happen to a black woman. I'm here to tell you that you're right. It would not. We don't rent cabins. Alone. In the woods. In the middle of no-fucking-where.”
“Then what do you suggest I do? I mean I have to go somewhere, do something.”
“Fine. I see your point. Why not talk to that man-bon-bon Ker and maybe go out to the movies with him. Go on a date. That might be what you need. To re-establish human relationships with the opposite sex. Besides, with as cute as he is from the photos on his website, I seriously doubt that would be a hardship.”
She swallowed back at the fear growing thick in her throat. “You're no help.”
“No, I'm clearly not. But my ideas are great.” Shae stood and headed for the door. “I'll be home early since it's the first Friday of the summer. That means we go into the new schedule. My boss starts doing the half day Fridays and we work an extra hour the rest of the week.” Shae gave her a wide smile. “Want to go for dinner later?”
Tiana bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah. I have to go out and buy some supplies for an art project I'm doing for my classroom, but I will be back after that.” She schlepped to the front door and held it open for Shae. “I'll also stop by and get some more pastries. You ate all my biscotti and now I can't work.”
Shae hugged her and started out the door. “Not my fault. Those things are delicious. Maybe bring me my own box and I'll stop eating yours.”
Tiana laughed. “Not likely.”
Shae nodded. “Yeah, you're right.”
She watched Shae leave and stood in the open doorway for a few moments. The sensation that someone was watching her made her glance around the area. The houses in her neighborhood were upper-middle class and they had cops to patrol night and day to keep crime down. She was at the nicest place she could be.
Still, that sensation didn't leave. It expanded. It duplicated. Fear gnawed at her belly. She gripped the door handle, her gaze shooting to and fro, trying to find the source of her discomfort. She didn't know why she was feeling this way. But it wasn't going away. The longer she kept the door open, the worst it got. Until she finally shut the door and let out the breath she'd been holding.
What the fuck was going on?