LENORA

 

I stayed up as late as I could, texting Charles to see where he was before the fatigue of the night eventually put me to sleep.

I didn’t sleep well. I laid on my couch, tossing and turning while everything that happened continued to run through my thoughts. I wanted to believe that there was some way out of this but there wasn’t.

Blade was looming. Lieberman had her eye on me. Charles was a Reaper and he was always gonna have a spotlight on him.

I stayed in my apartment, not moving from my couch even when I woke up in the morning. I clutched my phone in my hand, waiting for a message I knew wasn’t coming.

I could only tell it was the middle of the afternoon when the sun started peering in through the window. That still wasn’t enough to get me to move.

I started drifting off to sleep when my phone vibrated. I looked at it as quickly as I could but it was only a message from Lieberman.

“We need to talk.”

“If you have something to say to me, just say it.”

I waited a few seconds before she sent me another text.

“It’s not safe. Meet me in 30 minutes at the usual spot.”

I sighed a deep breath through my nose and sank deep into my couch.

Lieberman never gave me any details over my phone. She said the information was too sensitive. I guess I couldn’t blame her.

I didn’t have the energy to get up from my couch but I knew that there was no way out of it.

I climbed into the shower and let the water run over me. I stared down at the drain, thinking about everything I’d just been through. Despite everything that happened, the only thing on my mind was him.

Charles.

He was the only thing I cared about now. And I knew that he felt the same way.

I eventually got out of the shower without an apparent solution to our situation. I finished getting dressed and prepared for my meeting with Lieberman. I was double-checking my messages when there was a knock at my door.

“Just a second…”

I set my phone down on the coffee table. I didn’t bother looking through the peephole. When I swung the door open, I had to hold back my surprise at seeing Blade standing there.

“Hello, Asia.”

He had a smile on his face. The same smile he always gave me when he greeted me. He looked just as magnanimous as always. His suit perfectly-tailored on his frame and not a single hair out of place on his head.

“Blade… What are you doing here?”

“I came here to say hello.”

I didn’t want to think something was wrong but there was something about his demeanor. Something I couldn’t place.

“I haven’t had lunch yet,” I said. “Did you wanna get something to eat?”

“Maybe a little later. I was hoping I could speak to you.”

“Right.”

“May I come in?”

“Come in? I…”

I turned around and looked at my barren apartment then chuckled nervously.

“…I haven’t really cleaned up,” I said. “I’m kinda embarrassed…”

“Asia… I know all of the intimate details of your life. We’ve shared everything. Would a messy apartment be anything to be embarrassed about now?”

“No… I guess not…”

I smiled and stepped to the side to let him into my apartment. Blade started looking around my living room even though there wasn’t much to look at.

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked. “Maybe something to snack on?”

“I’m fine,” he said with a smile. “You don’t need to show me any unnecessary hospitality.”

He walked over to the side of my living room and stared at the painting next to the window.

“I see you’re still painting,” he said.

“That painting is kind of old, actually. I set it out to dry a couple of weeks ago and haven’t bothered putting it away.”

“Busy as always. That’s what I always liked about you. Hard-working. You put your responsibilities in front of your hobbies. That’s the right idea. You’ll never make any money painting pictures. Art is all about luck and tricking some connoisseur into thinking there’s some meaning in it.”

Blade turned back to me, smiling as he laughed softly to himself.

“You’ve seen the paintings in my office,” he said. “The truth is I can’t tell if they’re any better than something I’d find on the street. The only reason I have them is because of their value. Maybe I could put something of yours in my office and trick everybody into thinking it’s worth something.”

“Yeah, that’s an idea.”

I laughed nervously as Blade made his way back toward me. He put his hands on my shoulders and narrowed his eyes at me.

“You’re not wearing any makeup,” he said.

“I just got out of the shower.”

“Do you plan on working tonight?”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “I’ll go out there and make some money.”

“It’s been a few days since I’ve received a payment from you. Has that Lawrence fellow not been paying you?”

“I have the money he gave me. I can give it to you now if you want—”

“There’s no hurry. I know you’re good for it. Please. Sit.”

He led me over to my couch. He sat down across from me, sitting up straight like he always did. He stared at me but I didn’t look at him, trying my best not to show how anxious I was at the moment.

Blade had come here for a reason but I wasn’t about to ask him why.

“How long have we known each other?” he asked.

“About five years now.”

“Five years… You were just 18. Now you’re almost 24. Your birthday is coming up soon.”

“It is.”

“Maybe I could get you something nice.”

“You… You don’t have to get me anything.”

“But I should. You’re my favorite girl, Asia. Just because I don’t fuck you anymore doesn’t mean I don’t still care about you.”

He kept staring at me. I didn’t say anything. All I did was sit there, counting the seconds until he finally left.

“I trust you,” he said.

“What?”

“I trust you. That’s why I tell you everything. I tell you about the operation I’m setting up. I tell you about the other women I sleep with. I tell you about the people I deal with.”

Blade always had a cocky smile on his face. A man in his position had every right to be confident. I suppose he had to so he could get the respect from everybody around him.

But he wasn’t smiling now. He was just staring at me like he was trying to look right through me.

“I dealt with Walsh,” he said. “I had a good businessman killed for you.”

“I know. I remember what you said—”

“What is Lawrence still doing here?”

“I… I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t asked him.”

“You’re not getting too attached to him now, are you? You shouldn’t be giving away something for free when there are others who are more than willing to pay for it.”

“He paid me. I have your money. I told you, I can get it for you right now—”

“I know, I know.”

It was a bit of a relief to see him smile again. He stood up and moved over to me. He put a hand on my arm. For some reason, his touch sent a chill down my spine.

“It’s all right,” he said. “Lawrence is from out of town. It’s not hard to imagine he’s infatuated with you. There’s no other woman in the world quite like you, Asia.”

I had trouble looking back at him.

“Once Lawrence is gone, you can go back to business as usual. There are a lot of men anxious to get a taste of you.”

“Is that what you came here for?”

“Yes. I wanted to let you know that even though I dealt with Walsh, there are still others I want you to spend the weekend with.”

“I remember.”

“I want you to show them a good time the only way you can. Let them know why you were my favorite fuck for so many years.”

Blade released me from his grip. He turned around and started walking to the exit. I sighed a soft breath of relief through my nose.

He put his hand on the door handle but stopped before he turned it.

“Oh, Asia. There’s just one other thing.”

“Yes?”

He pulled his hand away from the handle. He slowly started walking back toward me.

I stood there, my jaw clenched as he moved closer.

Blade’s eyes shifted up and down my body, his brow furrowed in slight confusion.

“You’re not really going to wear that, are you?”

I looked down and examined the dress I wore.

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.

“Nothing wrong with that dress for a whore, I suppose. But do you have to dress like one when you’re meeting a federal agent?”

What?

I thought I’d misheard him.

But the look in his eyes told me I didn’t. He wasn’t confused. He wasn’t smiling. All he had was a growing anger in his eyes I didn’t want to believe I was looking at.

“Tell me it’s not true,” he said. “Tell me you’re not meeting with the federal agent and giving her information about me.”

I swallowed anxiously, trying my best to keep a straight face. I coughed softly to clear my throat.

“It’s not true,” I whispered.

He gave me a half-smile.

“I’ve known you for five years now,” he said. “Five years and you’re still lying to me.”

We stood there in the middle of my apartment, staring hard at one another.

I didn’t know what to do. But I had to do something.

I immediately rushed for the door but it was futile. He grabbed me by the arms and tossed me to the ground. I gasped as I fell with a thud.

“Oh, Asia, you broke my heart.”

I looked up at him and was met with a hard slap against my cheek. I collapsed back to the ground, a stinging pain reverberating through my head.

“Get up.”

He grabbed me by my hair and forced me back to my feet. I struggled to break free from him while he looked into my eyes.

“After everything I did for you. After I took you in and looked after you. This is how you repay me?”

“Please… I—”

He slapped me across the face again, sending me back down to the ground. The pain was unbearable. Another stinging slap across my face made the tears roll down my cheeks. I groaned in pain on the floor.

“I should have left you where I found you. But I just had to fall in love with you.”

I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t believe what was happening.

My mind was scattered when he picked me back up from the ground. He held me in his arms before dropping me back down on my coffee table. I fell back onto it with a hard thud. The pain was a shockwave through my entire body.

I writhed in pain while he stood over me.

“Look at you… You’re so beautiful… Why would you make me do this to you?”

I had to do something. I had to do something now or he was gonna kill me right here.

He reached his hands down and picked me up by my hair. When I got back to my feet, I threw my hand as hard as I could. I slammed my fist into his nose. He stumbled back and stared at me angrily, blood trickling from one of his nostrils.

He rushed back at me. I reached my hands out and clawed at his face. He screamed in pain as I dug my nails into him, trying to press my thumbs into his eyes.

“Fuck you!”

I shouted at him as I struggled with him, trying to get him to let go of my hair. I’d never used so much strength in my life.

“Get off me!”

He wrapped his arms around me and tossed me to the side of my living room.

Stay focused… Stay focused…

Blade stumbled to his feet while he wiped the blood away from his face. I searched the scattered remains of my coffee table and snatched my phone up as quickly as I could before he could do anything.

I rushed out of my apartment with Blade chasing after me. I dialed on my phone the first number that came up as I ran through the complex.

“Gibson! What did I tell you about calling me—”

“Blade! He’s trying to kill me!”

“What?”

“Help!”

“I’m coming! I’m on my way right now!”

I turned around to look for Blade but there was no sign of him.

The throbbing pain in my head and the rest of my body was finally getting to me. I collapsed to the ground just as I heard a voice next to me.

“Hey, miss? Are you all right?”

I turned my head up and saw a stranger looking down at me.

“Hey! Somebody call an ambulance!”

I stared up at the sky over the stranger’s shoulder. It was so blue. The sun was out without a cloud in the sky. It was such a beautiful day in Ivory.