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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHANEL

T he panic I felt subsided immensely. I could get a few bites of my entrée down. I also had three glasses of wine before Zand had the server take the bottle away. I wasn’t even mad at him. He knew me. He knew my limits. Zand had a way with words and he had the resources to keep me safe.

A tremendous weight had been lifted off my chest. We waited for the valet to bring the car round. In a few hours, I would be somewhere new. With the tap of a button, I turned on the radio. Music would soothe me on the drive home from the restaurant. He held my hand, and I listened as he sang along to the radio. He had the nerve to have a great singing voice. The songs were old and I couldn’t place most of them, but the radio station played songs from the seventies and eighties.

This was the life I wanted. Zand was the man I wanted. I knew I was jumping ten steps ahead, but I could see a life with him. He seemed perfect and more so perfect for me. Sitting next to him in his car, I daydreamed about our future together. I pushed all doubts to the side and thought about us together, married, with kids.

My insides glowed with excitement because this dream felt obtainable. This life with the man I loved was so close. I had all this baggage, and it hadn’t made him run away.

Zand looked over and caught me staring at him.

“Babe, what are you thinking?”

“Nothing. I can’t wait to see your place. Your other place.”

“I think you’ll love it. You can redecorate it the way you like. It can be our place. I’m not trying to pressure you. I just want to be with you all the time. We already know we can be together for days at a time… I’m talking too much.”

“No, no, you’re not.” I loved to hear his voice.

I knew I couldn’t stay in my apartment while my crazy ex was out on the loose. Zand had somewhere safe for us to stay. I was only going to pack a few things. Maybe enough stuff for a week. I could always grab a few things at a later date.

Hopefully, I was going to have some peace. Zand was too Zen. He didn’t seem to fear my ex and that would’ve worried me, but he was so confident with his words. I didn’t ask, but Zand had to know some karate, Kung Fu or some form of martial arts. He was too cool for school.

We pulled into the apartment parking lot. Zand parked. He took my arm and ushered me into the building.

“You forgot to check under the flowerpot.”

I abruptly turned to him and playfully punched him in his chest.

“I should be mad at you. I can’t believe you knew it was me all along.”

“Kiss me.” Zand commanded and wrapped his arms around my waist, drawing me closer to his firm body.

He parted my lips with his tongue and pushed his tongue deep into my mouth. He reached up and grabbed my perfect hair bun forcing my face into his. This was what passion felt like. This is what lust looks like. This is love.

We kissed this way until we both had to come up for air.

“Go pack your stuff. I’ll come up and get your suitcases in a few minutes. ”

“Okay.” I rubbed my lipstick off his lips with my thumb.

“Don’t forget to pack lingerie.”

“That’s not a necessity.”

“For me it is.”

“Okay, Mr. Vampire.” I rolled my eyes. And this was his trigger.

Zand grabbed me tightly and buried his face in my neck. He took a playful soft bite of my skin without breaking my flesh. His teeth grazed my skin and his tongue sucked the place between my neck and my shoulder. My entire body tingled with pleasure. My nipples creased. My insides moistened. I was going to have to remove my wet panties.

His hands left my waist and glided down my dress. He was palming my ass with his hands and pressed my body into his stiff erection.

“Oh, shit!” Lights from a car lit up the hallway. Someone was pulling into the parking lot. It was someone that lived in the building or was visiting a resident. “Someone’s coming.”

Zand sluggishly pulled away from me. He kissed me quickly on the lips. “Hey, go pack.”

“Okay.” I twirled around to head for the stairs and whack; he slapped my ass with his open hand.

Oh, my god. He was a mess.

I trudged up to my second-floor apartment. My heels were high, and I had already stumbled down at least three steps before. I was in love with the landlord, so I couldn’t sue him if I broke my neck. I already had my key ready, so I entered my apartment and vowed I wouldn’t take too long to pack a few things. I would probably forget something important, but I would worry about that later.

I went straight into my bedroom and stepped out of my shoes. I grabbed my suitcases out of the closet and laid them on my bed. I unzipped them both. This was a big step. We were essentially going to live together. It was actually a gigantic step, but I knew it could work. We spent a week together in a hotel room. A day didn’t pass without us being together. We were almost living together already.

This would work. I believed in us. What we had was good, and I was happy he wasn’t going to let my past break the bond we formed. Zand’s need to protect me was admirable. I felt safe with him. He made me feel like I was a priority in his life.

This was new. We hadn’t known each other for long, but this just felt right. I needed bras, panties and socks. I left my coat in Zand’s car. I probably needed a hat and gloves. I couldn’t forget my Savage Fenty lingerie. I had a few sexy items Zand hadn’t seen, so I packed them.

I didn’t want to forget anything. I needed a lot of scrubs, a pair of jeans and a robe. I went over to my closet and grabbed my long bulky hooded sweater off the hanger. I giggled inside because I was going to be so surprised if Zand’s place was some ramshackle hole in the wall. I knew Zand, and I knew his taste. He wasn’t a fan of bright colors, but he had good taste.

“Baby girl.”

LONZO! — I couldn’t move when I heard his voice, a voice I recognized and feared. I dropped my sweater on the floor of the closet.

“Did you miss me?” His slight Mexican accent crept out so effortlessly.

I slowly turned around to see if my ears were playing tricks on me.

No, my ears worked just fine. He was standing inside my bedroom, blocking the doorway.

I felt like I was falling and my fear was all I had to keep me standing on my feet. He was here. Lonzo was standing before me and I wanted to faint. I wanted to yell, but I just couldn’t get my vocal chords to agree. Deep down, I knew this day would come. But something inside me prayed that the next time I saw this monster was in a court of law.

I knew this man would kill me. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Everything made sense now. But it didn’t make sense at all. Why was this happening to me? I didn’t want to die. But my options were limited.

My mind went into overdrive trying to come up with a way to escape. This man was clever, but this time I wanted to be a few steps ahead of him. I wanted to get away. I desperately wanted to live to see another day.

My heart lurched. The panic that invaded my body crashed through my skin and heated my face. He was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. Lonzo was here in the flesh and this time I was sure it wasn’t one of my nightmares.

“Coco, I’m not talking to myself.”

I never hated the name Coco as much as I did in this moment.

“Lonzo.” I whispered just loud enough to be heard.

“Oh, you remember my name.” He smirked in a way that made me feel like this was a game to him, a game that I would lose.

“I’m sorry.” I blurted.

“ Chica , what could you be sorry for?”

“Everything.”

“Could it be you talking to the feds? Could it be you turning states’ witness against me?”

“I don’t know anything and I didn’t see anything.”

“Why’d you run to Chicago?”

“I just moved.” My voice was shaky and unstable. “I needed a fresh start.”

“You moved away from me! Your muthafuckin’ man!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. You were in jail.” My eyes darted around the room. I didn’t know how I was going to escape.

“I’m out now and it took me awhile to track you down. I would’ve come to the hospital to see you, but I figured I should let that pretty face of yours heal up first.”

“It was you?”

“Don’t be mad at me. I sent them to find you not beat the shit outta you.” Lonzo shrugged his broad shoulders. “At least they didn’t kill you.”

I needed to keep him talking. “Why did you send them after me?”

“You know why. Like I said, my sister, and my cousin might have gotten a little carried away. Forget about them. You still fine. Oh baby, I missed you. You didn’t contact me once when I was in county lockup. What’s up with that?” He gestured out with his hands.

“I was advised not to.” I looked over at the sliding balcony door and wondered if that’s how he got in. I was on the second floor. Did he climb up?

“Yeah, and you’re such a good girl. That’s why I love you. You’re my own little goodie two shoes.”

Could I jump off my balcony and escape? Would I break my legs?

“I told the police I didn’t see anything. You didn’t have to come look for me.”

“Baby girl, you are a witness to a triple murder.”

“But I saw nothing.”

“I’m not stupid. I know you’re the star witness.” Lonzo took a few steps in my direction.

“No, they told me I might not have to testify. They told me they had all this other evidence against you and I was the last resort. The D.A. said they probably would never, ever call me to the stand.”

“Why are you shaking?”

I looked down at myself, and I was trembling. “Killing a witness is automatic life in prison. You know that, right?”

“So, are you a witness or not? You just said you weren’t. Do you think that would stop me?”

“No, I don’t, I don’t know. I don’t know you. I thought I did.”

His hands were clasped in front of him and hanging below his waist .

I wanted to run, but I didn’t have anywhere to go. I couldn’t fight this man. He was six-two and over two hundred pounds. I did not prepare my mind and body with an exit strategy.

He took two steps into my bedroom. “Hey.” His single words came out so smoothly you would think he hadn’t threatened to kill me.

“Coco!” His baritone traveled across the room and smacked me in the pit of my stomach.

“Yes.” I whimpered.

“Coco, that dress, I could just rip it off of you and fuck you face down, ass up.”

His words were vile. I held my breath because I knew I had to hide the disgust I felt for him. I was going to have to act nice.

“Are you really that surprised to see me?” He unclasped his hands to ball them at his sides. “Hello, I’m talking to you! Are you happy to see me?”

My knees buckled a little, but I was able to remain standing. “I’m surprised. Really surprised.” I mumbled after a wave of heat invaded the inside and outside of my body. I was sweating under my armpits and above my top lip.

“You’re surprised. What, did you think I was your new boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“No, you don’t, because we never broke up. I just went to jail. You are still mine.”

I didn’t know how to respond to this, so I stood frozen in place and melting with sweat.

“Coco, you know you’re dressed like a high-class hooker.”

I shook my head no, then stopped when I recognized I was doing it.

“I love it when you dress like this. I thought this was all for me, but you dressing like a slut for that other muthafucka. I saw you with him. You got you a cracker now. He can’t protect you from me. Fuck him. Let’s catch up. How are you doing here in Chicago? ”

I knew he wanted that question to be answered. “I’m working.”

“Yeah, you’re at Advanced Pediatrics. You just love working with kids. I probably should’ve made you a baby mama. Are you going to ask me how I’m doing?”

“Lonzo, how are you doing?” My voiced trembled, but I got out the full sentence.

“I’m happy you asked. As you know, I went to jail. I bonded out. I wasn’t supposed to leave the state of Minnesota, but nothing can stop me. They put on ankle bracelet on me but those things are a joke. One of my boys wearing that shit like hoes wear gonorrhea.” He chuckled.

I didn’t find it funny. All I could think about was the police officers that were going to find my dead body in this tight black dress. I didn’t want to die in this dress. It seemed inappropriate and almost offensive. I preferred to be murdered with pants and a thick cable-knit sweater.

“Coco, stop spacing out on me. Oh, wait. Are you planning your getaway? I see you looking around.”

Something snapped inside me. “Where am I going to go?” Being nice and docile would not stop him from murdering me. I was trapped, and I needed to figure something out.

“I really missed you. I haven’t seen you since you ran away from me.”

“I didn’t run away. You were in jail. What was I supposed to do?”

“I got out and I couldn’t find you. You skipped town.”

“Lonzo, you had your sister threaten to kill me.”

“I was just fucking with you. Soon as I got out of county lockup, I thought about how I was going to deal with you.”

“I didn’t see anything. They came to me. I never placed you at the scene. I only answered the questions. I never saw you do anything illegal.” Somehow this was technically true, but didn’t mean much to the police. I heard people being murdered, but I never actually saw Lonzo pull the trigger. Of course he did it. Of course I saw the gun in his hand before and after three people lost their lives, but what my ears heard, my eyes never saw. Whether that mattered in a court of law, I didn’t know. I was a nurse, not a prosecutor.

“I don’t know what you said or didn’t say, but I know the States Attorney had been trying to lock me up for two decades.”

“Lonzo, you know I don’t want to have anything to do with any of this.”

“I can’t control what you say when you get on the witness stand.”

“I’m not going to say anything.”

Lonzo’s eyes left me to rest on the bed. “What’s up with these suitcases? Where are you going?”

“Just a quick little trip back to Minnesota.” I had to make up a lie. It seemed to be a good one. Since he was closer to the bed, that gave me a little space to run for the door. Could I make it? I just didn’t know for sure.

“Who you packing lingerie for that White boy that I saw you with at the funeral?”

“Who?” It was time to really come up with a lie. The only funeral was Craig’s, and Lonzo didn’t know him. I needed to get Lonzo out of my apartment before Zand came up to get me.

“That White muthafucka at the funeral?”

My first response was, my cousin. No one would believe that Zand was related to me. I had to come up with a better response.

“Oh, that’s Morgan’s cousin.” That was believable. Morgan was White passing and Lonzo wouldn’t know her race. She looked White.

“I thought you were fucking him.”

“No, he’s White.” I made a sour face.

“That’s good, because I didn’t want to put some lead in that muthafucka head.” Lonzo slowly lifted his shirt and removed a gun from the waistband of his jeans. “I already ran your little friend Craig off the road. ”

“You killed Craig?”

“Yes, I needed to find you. I tried to follow your friend, but she’s too smart. I got Craig’s cell phone from the wreck and he was texting his girlfriend in Chicago. You remember when your girl came down here to visit you.”

I remembered it vividly. Now I can never forget that Craig’s road rage accident was no accident at all. It was Lonzo trying to find me and killing some innocent person just for that purpose. I was sick to my stomach. I wanted to throw up. If I survived this, Morgan would never forgive me. I’d talked to Morgan earlier when I was at work. I hoped and prayed she was okay.

“Did you do something to Morgan?”

“No, I didn’t have to kill that White girl.”

I needed to live. “We should go out together on a date. We haven’t been out together in a long time.”

“I want to stay in your little apartment. It’s cute. You got pillows and shit. You got food in the fridge. No Mexican food, but we can fix that. You got that fat, juicy pussy right here. I don’t have to go nowhere.” He grinned like a villain in a MCU movie. “Come here.” He used the gun to wave me over.

He was talking to me, but I couldn’t even move my fragile body to take a step in his direction.

“Lonzo, I think we should go out, get food or something.” Lonzo waved the handgun around and stalked over to me. He waved the gun in my face.

My heart lurched. My eyes grew large. Knees, what knees? They were as fragile as glass. I looked down at the bed. My cell was inside my purse. I couldn’t get to it.

“I don’t want to go anywhere. I told you that. I haven’t been with anybody since you. I want some of the good shit you got.”

“I’m on my period.” I hoped that lie would work.

“I don’t care. I don’t give a fuck about blood.”

Shit, it didn’t work. “I have cramps.”

“Look, I don’t give a fuck. Get your ass over here.” Lonzo pushed both of my suitcases and my purse off the bed. Everything landed on the floor. He waved the gun at me, signaling for me to come close. I didn’t budge, and that proved to be the wrong move.

Lonzo rushed toward me and grabbed me by my neck. The shock hit me before my urge to fight him off. The sight of the gun so close to my body made me limp. I never saw him kill, but I heard him shoot those three people in that warehouse. That was all I needed to be afraid of this man. It was all I needed to comply. I wanted to leave the apartment because I didn’t want anything to happen to Zand. I didn’t want to let anyone else die or get hurt because of me.

I clawed at his hand around my neck, and this made him squeeze tighter. My eyes watered as all the air I had on reserve was being taken from my lungs. I was so close to losing consciousness that I could feel my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

With a quick toss, I was let go and pushed down on my bed. I gasped for every piece of air I could take in without choking to death. I reached for my sore throat and was held down on the bed until I was flat. He had the gun pointed directly at my face.

This was it.

I was going to die.

One sudden move and the trigger would go off.

All the tears I had locked up inside were running down the sides of my face and pooling in my ears. I couldn’t see his face. All I could see was the barrel of his gun pointing only inches from my head.

I felt Lonzo pulling my dress down in the front and exposing my breast. He grabbed my breast and twisted them like a brute.

“Please stop.” I moaned into the air. Lonzo lowered the weapon to look at me. He pointed at my breast. He touched my breast with the gun.

“I will shoot your fucking titties off. You, shut the fuck up, and take this dick just the way you used to.”

A man had never violated me. But this was going to happen. I didn’t know if I should lie and be still or fight him. I could die either way, but no obvious line of action was coming to me.

Lonzo bent over me to place the gun on my nightstand. He rested all his weight on me and I felt crushed under him. He pinned my arms above my head and I squirmed and bucked, but he was too heavy and too strong.

“Get off me! I said no! Get the fuck off me!”

He slapped me with his free hand. It hurt so bad I saw stars.

“I’m going to rip you a new hole, you fucking traitor.” He said through gritted teeth. He was trying to pull his pants down with his free hand.

“Stop! Lonzo, no please don’t do this.”

“I’m going to give you a baby.”

“NO! NO!”

He stopped removing his pants to slap me again. This slap hurt more than before. His anger had risen, and I was in trouble. My tears didn’t matter to him. My pleas didn’t matter to him. He was going to force himself on me. I closed my eyes as tight as I could. I wanted to disassociate from the violence that was going to happen to me.

I squeezed my eyes tighter when I felt Lonzo’s hand tugging at my panties.

“Nooooooo!” I had to try to coax him away one more time before I went numb.

With no notice, the heavy weight of his body was gone. He wasn’t on top of me. I immediately opened my eyes to see Lonzo climbing off the bed. He tripped over the suitcase he tossed to the floor. He scurried to the nightstand and grabbed his gun, and pulled his pants up at the same time. His hand held firm as he pointed the gun across the bed. My head followed, and I saw him.

Zand was standing in the doorway to my bedroom. His eyes were trained on Lonzo. This was exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I didn’t want Zand to get hurt, or worse, killed .

“Chanel.” Zand said my name as I watched him not even look at me. “Get up. You’re coming with me.”

I wanted to run to him, but I knew that wouldn’t be wise. Instead of sprinting, I sat up and scooted over to the edge of the bed near where Zand stood.

“Coco! Stay your ass on that muthafuckin’ bed!”

My heart lurched. I froze in place. Lonzo had my attention, and the fire and rage in his glare scared me to death.

“Lonzo.” Zand called out to him.

“How you know my name? Who the fuck are you?”

“It doesn’t matter. You need to leave. She said no. You should go.”

“Go.” Lonzo laughed out loud. “I should go. Coco, where you find this dumb muthafucka. I should go. No, yo’ bitch ass should go. I’m having a conversation with my bitch. You go before I buss a cap in your clear ass.”

“I’m not leaving without Chanel. I don’t want to hurt you.” Zand calmly stated, like he was a hostage negotiator.

Why the fuck was he so calm? I was about to pee on myself.

“Hurt me?” Lonzo waved the gun around. “This muthafucka crazy. I’m the one with the gun.” He took the steps needed to walk around the bed. He landed only a few feet from Zand.

My current beau glanced over at me with an expression that I could only describe as mildly annoyed. I tensed when I saw him take a step toward Lonzo.

“Really, you stepping to me. I’m the one with the fucking gun, son, and you, the dumb muthafucka that showed up here without a strap.”

“I don’t need one.” Zand took two more steps toward Lonzo.

Oh, my god! No! No! Zand, no!

“I gave you a chance to leave. I wish you would’ve taken it.”

“You wild. Coco, where you find this fool?”

I looked at Lonzo and then back at Zand, who was looking right at me instead of the gun that was pointed at his chest. Something in his eyes told me this was the last time I would see him. When Lonzo shoots him, he’s going to have to shoot me because I am a witness to another murder.

Zand turned away from me. He stared right into Lonzo’s eyes and slowly took step after brave step toward him.

“Stop!” Lonzo said, but it was too late. The gun went off.

A scream pierced the air, and it was coming from me. I jumped off the bed and stumbled back into the wall.

My body shook. The fear I had inside me was amped up to one hundred percent. I waited for Zand to fall, but he didn’t. He just stood there. Lonzo just stood there. I leaned against the wall, waiting for something. I looked down at Zand’s gray t-shirt and there was a red bloodstain right in the center of his chest.

“You fucking shot me.” Zand coolly stated, just like someone in shock that was going to fall to their knees and die in seconds. But he wasn’t falling.

His hands reached out and karate chopped the gun from Lonzo’s hands. The pistol went flying across the room. Lonzo went to retrieve it but Zand kicked him so hard he went flying across the room and landed inside my open closet doors.

Dazed, Lonzo stumbled to his feet and charged toward Zand like he was unscathed. Zand was ready. He punched Lonzo in his face and I heard a loud cracking sound. Blood gushed from Lonzo’s nose, but that didn’t stop him from charging right back at Zand.

I moved closer to the door. I needed to call the police, but my purse had landed on the other side of the bed. I tripped over my shoes, making a thumping sound with my feet as I inched toward the door. It was only a small sound, but it was loud enough to distract Zand.

He looked over at me and… and…and…breathe, focus.

Zand’s eyes weren’t normal. The warm tan was the brightest red. They were glowing like vast pools of blood moons. His teeth were different. He had fangs. His skin was pale, nothing like his normal color. I could see blue and green veins jagged across his face and neck. It didn’t look like Zand. His face was like a grizzly bear or some other animal.

While his red eyes locked with mind, he reached behind him and grabbed Lonzo by his neck. He lifted Lonzo into the air. I could see him lift this two hundred pound man in the air like he was a newborn baby.

Lonzo was gagging and his bare feet were swinging at least three feet above the ground. Zand looked away from me to look up at the petrified Lonzo. He lowered him just as Lonzo was passing out.

I jumped back when Zand opened his mouth and took a huge bite out of Lonzo’s shoulder. Blood ran down Zand’s face. His red eyes closed for a quick second only to open and land on me.

Screaming was an option, but I couldn’t yell. My vocal chords weren’t working. My legs got a boost, and I went running for the bedroom door. I ran into the hall and made it through to the living room and as soon as my hand touched the doorknob I was out.