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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHANEL

M y boss allowed me to take an entire week off of work to heal from my injuries. Going back to work after all the fanfare my assault caused was enough to wear me out. My coworkers had a welcome back party for me and it surprised me since I hadn’t been working there for long. I was a real deal Chicagoan now. I survived the mean streets of Chi-Town and I guess that was a good thing.

It was awkward every time Shawn came into the office. We’d only gone on that one date, but it was odd having to look at him. I ghosted him when I got with Zand. I ignored his text messages. Giving him the cold shoulder was hard when he popped into the office to drop off his pharmaceutical samples.

I could tell he was salty, even though I pulled him to the side and apologized. I lied and told him I wasn’t ready to date. He was a good guy, just not my good guy. Shawn saw my face and I’m sure he probably thought my little ass whooping was warranted. That’s what I get for ghosting such a handsome man like him. I’m sure he thought I’d made a big mistake letting him go.

None of it mattered. I had completely fallen for Mr. Valentine. I forgot any other men ever existed on planet earth. Zand had me in mind, body, and soul. He nursed me back to health. I felt safe and protected when I was with him. I could truly be me, and I had never felt that way with any other man.

Work was hectic, with parents trying to hurry and get flu shots for their kids before the frigid winter hit us. I was having my bagged lunch in the back of the pediatrician’s office when my cell phone rang.

A picture of Zand with his head on my pillow popped up on my cell phone screen. His perfect face glowed. I smiled before I answered. His face made me happy inside and out.

“Hello.” I answered with my sugary good girlfriend voice.

“Hey Daywalker. Are you having lunch?”

I loved when he called me Daywalker. After he admitted he knew I was his secret admirer, things changed. They got better. We were closer. Daywalker wasn’t your typical term of endearment, but it was something unique to us. It was personal and sweet.

“Yes, Mr. Vampire, I’m eating my turkey sandwich. What are you doing right now?”

“Uh, I’m just drinking blood.”

I chuckled into the phone. “Funny. No, seriously.”

“I’m looking over payroll. I want to take you out to dinner later tonight.”

“You don’t have to be at the club?”

“We can drop by the club for a few minutes, then go to dinner. You love seafood and I’ve heard of this five-star restaurant on Michigan Avenue. I made reservations for ten. I know it’s a little late to eat. But you can come home and take a nap if you need one. I want to take you out. You’ve made a full week back at work without a single complaint. You deserve a good, fancy meal. We can have a few drinks and come back to my place. You’re off the painkillers and you can drink as much as you like.”

“I could go for a drink.”

“I’m driving and I promise to drink responsibly. Are you up for it? ”

“Yes, I would love to have dinner with you.” I would love to have the dessert he was packing in his pants afterwards.

“Just dress up and I will be there at nine-thirty to pick you up and show you a good time.”

“I can’t wait to get out of this office and out of these scrubs.”

“You’ll be ready on time?” He asked.

“I will be ready. I promise.”

“Babe, I know I just saw you this morning, but I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“I have never felt this way. No, no, we can talk about it at dinner.”

“I look forward to our date.” I smiled into my cell phone.

“See you later, Daywalker.”

“You can just use your key to get into my apartment.” At first, it was weird knowing Zand was my landlord, and he had a key to my apartment all along. Now I didn’t feel any way about it. “My doorbell needs batteries.”

“I should have some. I will bring them tonight. I’m going to the club to sign a few contracts and I will see you later. Call me if you need me for anything.”

“I’m good.” I said because for the first time in a long time I was good.

“Okay, later babe.”

“Bye.” I waited for the phone to go dead. My face was grinning so hard. Any sudden movements and it would crack. To go from a hardened criminal to Zand was a godsend. My cheeks were ballooned out as I thought about what dress I could wear to dinner. It needed to be something he’s never seen before. Would I have time to go to the mall and treat myself to something brand new? I could get my nails done and still have time to come home and lay down for about an hour.

I picked up my cell and placed a call. It rang a few times and when I was about to hang up; she answered.

“Hey girl.”

“Morgan, you sleep? ”

“No, I left my phone in the kitchen. It’s your lunchtime?”

“Yeah, I’m eating. I ran into Shawn today.”

“Oh, how did that go?”

“I was okay. I could tell he can’t stand me. But I kept it classy and cute.”

“That’s all you can do, girl.”

“Zand asked me out to dinner tonight. I think he wants to tell me something. But I don’t know what it is.”

“I hope its good news.”

“I do too because I can’t take anymore bad news. How are you feeling?”

“I’m just taking one day at a time.”

“Have you talked to Craig’s parents since the funeral?”

“His mom called me this morning. Craig still has some clothes and some other things at my house. I know she’s going to come by and get the stuff she wants. I just don’ know when.”

“Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s her son. Whatever she wants, she can have. You know what? I forgot to tell you. I was at the grocery store and I ran into someone. Well, I didn’t run into him. I thought I saw someone who looked like your ex-boyfriend.”

“Lonzo?”

“Yes. It was weird. Like I saw him one minute, then I didn’t. It probably was someone who looked like him. Because why would he even be in my area? It was just weird.”

“He lives nowhere near you.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it was just some guy that looked like him.”

“Zand asked me if he thought Lonzo was the one who attacked me.”

“He doesn’t even know where you live. You’re in another state.”

“Right. How could he know? Zand showed me the security camera footage. It was definitely two women. Lonzo is tall and huge. It wasn’t him. ”

“Lonzo has never put his hands on you, right?” Morgan asked.

“No, he’s just threatened me. He never physically hurt me.”

“Maybe it was just some random crime. It’s bad everywhere. Crime is up all across the country.”

“I think it was just some random crime. They tried to rob me and probably beat the crap out of me when they saw I didn’t have anything on me.”

“Do you want me to come to Chicago? You know I can work remotely.”

“I know, but you still have things to deal with. Zand has really been taking care of me. He even was helping me put my makeup on to cover my black eye.”

“Oh shit, he’s a keeper. I’m glad to hear everything is working out with you and your vampire. I just wish I could’ve seen your face when he told you he knew you were the one writing those damn letters. Woo child, did you almost fall over and faint?”

“Yes, I certainly did. I died. Came back to life and died again. I was embarrassed.”

“I think it’s sweet. He just played along with it, knowing he was blowing your back out.”

“Well, that’s certainly the truth.”

“It looks like your guy got a little bit of money in his pocket. I mean legitimate money. You might have a winner this time.”

“I really like him. I don’t want anything to go wrong. Being with him is just so easy. I like easy.”

“Think positive thoughts, and I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I am. My lunch is over. I have to go back to work.”

“Okay, call me when you leave work.”

“Okay, bye.”

I went right back to work. I used my workday to think about what I was wearing on my date with Zand. We were Facebook official without the Facebook part. Zand didn’t have any social media presence. It was strange, but I recognized a long time ago he wasn’t an average guy. None of that mattered because he was the man for me.

I was having an out-of-body experience. I was sitting across the table from my sexy boyfriend. My hair was up in a flawless bun. My makeup was on point and I was wearing a fitted one-shoulder black dress that set my leopard print Manolo heels ablaze. I just didn’t remember how I got here. I know I was in his car. The drive to the restaurant I couldn’t recall. My brain was in a fog. I remembered the valet taking the car. I recall we were seated immediately.

I barely looked at the menu. I decided I would order whatever Zand ordered. My brain wouldn’t let me think about food. The server had taken our orders. He left us with two full glasses of red wine and the open bottle. The urge to grab the bottle and turn it up to my lips came over me. I wanted to be drunk enough to not feel the emotions that had a chokehold on me.

I was overheating. My armpits were sweaty. I was happy my hair was up in a bun. Loose hair would’ve irritated me since I was so damn hot. My eyes wouldn’t stop moving around the room. They darted around the restaurant and to every table. I was looking for something— someone. I was trying to hide it, but I was having a full-blown panic attack.

“Are you okay? You seem nervous.” Zand’s voice pulled me back to our table.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.” Zand reached over the table and took my hand in his. “Your hand is cold and wet. Babe, are you okay?”

I took a huge sip from my wine glass with my other hand. “Something happened while I was getting dressed.”

“Something, like what? I know you’re not pregnant.” He joked .

“No, of course not.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I got a phone call before we came here.”

“Okay.” Zand nodded once.

I seized the deepest breath I could muster. “It was my ex, Lonzo. He called me.”

“Your ex?” Zand’s eyes widened, and he leaned toward the table.

“Yes, he called. I don’t know how he got my new number.”

“You seem very upset.”

“I am. He’s not a good person. He has my cell number and he might know where I am.”

Zand shrugged nonchalantly. “Huh, maybe yes, maybe no.”

It was clear Zand had absolutely no idea how notorious Lonzo was in the streets of Minnesota.

“Zand, I think we should cool it for a while.”

“You’re breaking up with me?”

“No. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I never wanted to drag you into my bullshit.”

“Chanel, I’m not afraid of him.”

“You don’t know him. He’s a really bad guy.”

“Well, yes, but?—”

“Zand, look, you’ve been good to me. He could kill you. He has murdered people.”

“You care about me. I get it, but I can handle myself.”

“I don’t just care about you. I love you.” I vomited the L word right out like a weirdo.

“You love me?” Zand smiled with his caramel eyes.

“Yes, fine. I said it. I love you. I don’t want anything to happen to you because I care about you and I love you.”

“I love you too. I’m in love with you. That’s exactly the reason I can’t abandon you in your time of need. I could never abandon you. We have something special. We have love.”

Pleading with him was my only option. “If something happened to you because of me. ”

“Nothing will happen to me or you.”

“Zand, listen, this is not the time to be a hero. My ex, he’s killed people.”

“Yes, it was two men and their sister. He murdered a rival gang member with a machete a few years back, but they didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him for that. He’s suspected of other crimes.”

“How do you know this?” His knowledge floored me.

“You told me his name. I looked into him.”

“Why?”

“Curiosity. Don’t worry. It could never be traced back to you or me.”

“How did you look into him?”

“Natasha is my head of security. She can get information on anybody. She has connections with certain people in important positions.”

His voice calmed me, but I still feared he didn’t really understand the type of man he was dealing with. Lonzo was a menace.

“Lonzo is the head of some Minnesota crime gang. He’s some big criminal that the police have been trying to get for years.” I added.

“He’s been too smart up until this point. They can’t seem to make any federal or criminal cases stick.”

“So you know he’s dangerous?”

“Uh, I’m sure he thinks so.”

“Zand, why aren’t you listening to me? You’re not taking this serious.”

“Believe me, I am. I just don’t scare easy.”

What did he mean by that? “Do you own a gun or something?”

“No, I don’t have any guns at the apartment, but there are guns in a safe at The Castle. My security team has concealed carry licenses, so they usually carry a gun on their person while at work. I just tell them to keep the weapons hidden from the public. Chanel, I will not leave you to deal with that bastard all by yourself. If he’s brave enough to come to my city and mess with my girl, I’m ready for him.”

I didn’t know what Zand meant. I’d never seen him raise his voice. How could he even think he could take on a gang lord? His bravery was nice, but Lonzo was a big, thick guy with tattoos all over his body.

“Chanel, I want you to feel safe. Whatever it takes. You can move in with me. Or I can move you to another property I own. I can take you to and from work. Or I can get one of my security guards to escort you. I need you to understand you’re safe with me.”

I was starting to believe him. I knew I was crazy for thinking a club owner and apartment landlord could protect me from a seasoned criminal. Could he, though? He could probably hide me. Lonzo got my cell phone number, but that doesn’t mean he could get any information on Zand.

“Zand, I don’t think my attack was random. Lonzo said to me, I heard you got into a scuffle. I don’t know if he sent someone to beat me up? Were they supposed to kill me? I don’t know.”

“Tell me exactly what he said to you on the phone. Did he threaten you?”

“No, he said— Hola, Coco. Mi pequena flor, como estas?”

“What did you say?”

“I was just quiet. As soon as I heard his voice, I froze.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Yes, he said— I know you’re here. I can hear you breathing. Then he said, I heard you got into a scuffle. Then he said, don’t worry. Papi will be there soon to make it all better. Then he hung up. I didn’t know what to do. And like two minutes later, you were at the door to take me to dinner. Do you think I should call the police?”

“No, don’t. They can’t do much. He probably placed the call from a burner phone. What he said to you wasn’t a real threat. He might not even be in the state of Illinois. To get bail, I’m sure he’s wearing an ankle monitor. If he leaves the state, the authorities will come for him.”

“I don’t know what to do.” I was at my wit’s end.

“First thing, take a deep breath. You don’t have to figure this out right this minute. You don’t have to figure it out alone. I’m here. Tell me as much as you personally know about this, Alonzo?”

“There’s not much I know. He’s a criminal. I didn’t know it when I met him. He’s a drug dealer of some kind of drug gang. He also has a lot of businesses around Minnesota. He’s dangerous, and I was so stupid. I didn’t have a clue. I thought he was a legitimate businessman. He owned some auto-body shops. Now he’s out on a million dollar bond for the murder of three rival gang members, those two men and the sister.”

“He was trying to scare you with the phone call.”

“It worked.”

“You’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I don’t want you involved in any of this.”

“Chanel, babe, listen, I’m not afraid of Alonzo Lopez.”

“I believe you, but you really should be.”

“I’ll take you back home. You can pack some clothes and we can stay at my place downtown by the lake.”

“You have a place downtown?”

“Yes, it has everything you need but food. We can stop at the grocery store and grab a few things. Don’t stress about this. He could never find you at my loft.”

“Okay, I think I would feel better at a different location.”

“We’re going to figure this out together. You have to just trust me.” Zand reached across the table and took my other hand in his. “Do you trust me?”

“I do. I do trust you.” I didn’t even have to think about it. I trusted him. After what happened with Lonzo, I didn’t even think trusting a man completely was an option.

“Let’s eat and have a few drinks to take the edge off. I think we need them.”