Page 39 of Somebody Else Will

“I wishyou didn’t have to leave.”

“Me either, baby, but duty calls. Your man ain’t gon’ make it to the A-list laid up in that pussy, day in and day out.”

I chuckled. “That’s not the only reason I want you to stay. I enjoy your company, Ezekiel. You’re fun to be around, and you give me a sense of peace.”

He pulled me to him and held me in his embrace for a moment. I took a deep breath and released him. That was only making it more difficult to let him leave. We were outside at Toasted Yolk and had just enjoyed a filling brunch. I lowered my gaze to the ground for a moment and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can, but I will call you when I get to Houston, then again before I board, then again before takeoff, then again when I land, and yet again when I’m on my way to my hotel. I’m gonna miss you, baby.”

I gave him a tight smile and said, “I’ll miss you too. I pray the meeting and audition go well and you get the role.”

“Thanks. I really have to go now, baby. Talk to you soon.”

I got in my car, and he closed my door, then I watched him walk to his and peel off. He was supposed to leave thirty minutes ago. We were both having a tough time physically letting go. After two sessions of intense fucking, he’d made sweet love to me and rocked my ass straight to sleep. I’d slept in his arms all night and didn’t wake up to even go to the bathroom.

As I left the parking lot to head to the floral shop, my phone started to ring. I figured it may have been Grandma. We agreed to go to dinner together today instead of lunch. It was alreadyalmost noon, and there was no way I could even get down another swallow of water at this point. I was so full of shrimp and grits I could barely breathe.

When I saw a random number that wasn’t saved in my phone, I assumed it was business. “This is Denishia with Happily Ever After Floral. How can I help you?”

“Hello, Miss Boswell. This is Detective Randall. We got her. Did you want to come to the police station?”

“Absolutely. Where did you find her?”

“Sitting outside your home.”

“What! Yeah. I’m on my way.”

That bitch had a death wish. I didn’t understand why she was out for me if we were supposedly sisters. This was crazy as fuck! I was so curious to see what her reasons were. She didn’t know me, and our sperm donor didn’t know me either. There was nothing he could have even told her about me. He was never around. Now that I knew how he’d abused my mama, I was glad he wasn’t around.

When I got to the police station, I sent Ezekiel a text to let him know where I was, just in case I was still here when he called. I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer. As I stood, my knees were literally knocking. I was so damn angry and nervous about what she would say. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to slap the piss out of her either, since we were at a police station, no matter how badly I wanted to.

Once inside, I saw Detective Randall standing up front, waiting for me. He smiled politely and said, “Hello, Miss Boswell. Follow me.”

I nodded and followed him to the back. When we reached the interrogation rooms, we walked down a hallway. When he stopped in front of the room she was in, my eyebrows lifted. I’d seen her before. I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her, but Ihad. She was a beautiful woman, but I noticed a couple of scars in her face, like she’d been cut… just like she’d done to Jamia.

“Stay here.”

I nodded again and watched him walk inside. She looked at him and smiled. “Do you know why we arrested you?”

“You seem to think I had something to do with breaking a window at a flower shop and attacking a woman there. They told me already.”

“So you’re saying it wasn’t you?”

“I didn’t say that. I said you think it was me.”

“That we do. We more than think it. We know it was you from facial recognition software. There was video footage of the entire thing. You had to know you wouldn’t get away with this, right?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t care whether I did or not.”

“Do you know the owner of the Happily Ever After Floral Shop?”

“Nope. I know who she is though.”

“That you do,” he said as he pulled something from a folder. “These documents say that the two of you are sisters.”

“Sisters are best friends, and they love each other. She’s not my sister.”

She got that shit right. I rolled my eyes. I wanted him to get to the point. I needed to know whether I wanted to say anything to her or not.

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