Adriana hadn’t slept in days. Thailand hadn't returned any of her texts or phone calls, and Aaron's status hadn’t changed. Since the day she could hold a paintbrush, Adriana had painted her pain until she couldn't muscle up the strength to stroke any longer. She put her hair in a ponytail and pulled a stool up to a blank canvas. A heart shattered into pieces is what she felt and so she would paint. Short or long, every brush stroke helped her breathe a little easier. A knock at the door startled her, causing her to drop the paint brush onto her pants.
            "Shit. WHO IS IT?!" she yelled.
            "Hello, I'm looking for Ms. Adriana Jackson?" the voice on the other end said.
            "I'm sorry, but the gallery isn't open today, Tuesday through Saturday only." Adriana stated, annoyed by the interruption.
            "Oh I know. I was hoping to talk to her about creating a painting for a special friend of mine; Aaron." Well shit, now I have to open the door, thought Adriana.
            "Hi, I'm Adriana."
            "Yes, I know. I've always wanted to meet you. Your work is well known all over Chicago. It is an honor."
            "Thank you. Please come in."
You're going to regret this. Once I'm done with you, no one will be able to recognize you, the visitor thought.
            "So how do you know Aaron?" Adriana wanted to know.
            "I'm a regular at his restaurant. The menu and entertainment are exquisite, can't get enough of the place."
            "Yea his place is one of the best in all of downtown Chicago. I take it you two are pretty cool?"
            "Oh yea, we share a passion for art. He never shut up about his all-time favorite painter, Ms. Adriana Jackson. After hearing about his tragic accident, couple of the other regulars and I thought it would be nice to chip in and ask you to create an exclusive piece to hang inside his restaurant."
            "That is so sweet. Of course I will create a piece on you guys’ behalf. It will be free of charge."
            "Oh no! You don't have to do that. We are more than willing to pay you for your services, Ms. Jackson."
            "No, no I insist. What concept did you all come up with?"
            "Well we all thought that whatever you came up with would be fitting. Your work is known for exuding strength through pain, triumphs over tribulations, persevering through the storm; you know things of that nature. I think you should paint like it’s your very last time. It just might be."
            "What do you mean by...?” Pain rushed through Adriana's head like a freight train. Dizzy with blood dripping in her eyes, she tried to get up off the floor.
            "Who...who are you?"
            "Who am I? When you opened that door, I became the worst decision you've ever made, that's who I am!" She struck Adriana again, causing her to black out. Standing over her, she began to go off into a rant.
            "You think you can just bat those exotic green eyes, and walk around Chicago like you're the shit! You and Thailand MAKE ME SICK! Always hugging and kissing, taking trips around the world, and smiling in everybody faces." She kicked Adriana before continuing her rant.
            "You think you are going to reap what I sewed?! I DON'T THINK SO! That's okay, either he's going to give me what I want or I'm getting rid of your ass. LET’S SEE HOW MUCH HE REALLY LOVES YOU!" She tossed the wrench she used to hit Adriana with across the room, and then she began dragging her towards the back door. She put Adriana in the trunk of her car and went back to clean up the few specs of blood that spilled. You better hope he complies with my demand or else you will never paint again, she thought. She drove to a remote area an hour outside of Chicago and parked on the side of an abandoned house. As she was tying Adriana's wrist behind her back, she began to awake.
            "Where... Am... I?" Adriana was disoriented.
            "You wouldn't know if I told you."
            "Why am I here? Why are you doing this?"
            "You ask a lot of questions. Do you always talk this much?" Tightening the knot on the rope, she continued…
             "Do you love Thailand?"
            "Yes." answered Adriana.
            "You think he loves you?"
            "Yes."
            "Really? Well we shall see."
            "What do you want from me?"
            "It's not you that I want something from. It’s him. He owes me, and it's time to pay up."
            "How much? I'll pay you. Just tell me how much and it's yours." Laughing she smacked Adriana across her naïve face.
            "Like I said! He owes me, not you!" She force fed Adriana some pills and poured water down her throat.
            "Bottoms up bitch."
            "What the hell did you just give me?"
            "Just a little something to keep you calm and relaxed, now I'll be back to check on you later, don't bother screaming. No one will hear you." Adriana watched her abductor leave the barn. Minutes later she heard a car start and then drive away.
            "Oh my God Thailand, what have you gotten us into?"
Before driving off she took out a sheet of paper and an envelope. She wrote twelve words, put the note in the envelope, and sealed it with a kiss.
            "How deep is your love Thailand? We are about to find out." She sped off smiling at the fact that what she's waited on for so long will be hers sooner than later. She parked a few house down from his.
            "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he reads this." She said to herself. Carefully, but swiftly she placed the letter on his front porch and rang the doorbell. Thailand looked out the window to see no one outside. He opened the door thinking that maybe some bad ass kids were trying to ruffle his feathers for fun. He spotted the envelope and picked it up. "Another one?" he said aloud. The contents of the note made him do a double take as his heart instantaneously dropped.
"If you ever wanna see her again, you'll give me what’s mine."
"Oh my God…Adriana." Thailand looked around one last time but didn't see anyone. He went inside and immediately called Ethan.
"Yo E, I got another one."

Rattled, Faye sat in her car trying not to cry. She declined Richard’s offer of conversation over a cup of coffee. He watched from his Mercedes waiting for her to pull off, when she didn’t, he drove his car to the empty spot near hers. He said a prayer hoping she hadn’t given up on a situation that was getting more difficult than it may have been worth. He tapped on the driver’s window causing her to look out at him with her now puffy eyes. She let down the window and tried to smile.
“I told you, you were a stalker,” she said laughing through her tears.
“I only stalk pretty women who spend most of their time crying, open the door.”
Faye obeyed mentally fatigued and too tried to think of an excuse not to.
“Richard, are you a God send, or a tormentor? You’re a constant reminder of what my sister thought was another failure. I don’t know that she’d be happy that you’re so persistent.”
“I haven’t asked her for anything. Nor do I expect her to understand any of my motives. I am doing this for selfish reasons. I need a secretary, and I need to be able to live at peace knowing I didn’t push her over the edge. Everything that has happened since then is connected to the fact that I didn’t tell her she was being considered for the job. Something that simple could have stopped her from thinking of herself as a failure.”
“I can’t say that you are wrong, but I know nothing about this is simple. It's not easy for someone to want to take their own life and leave those that love them behind. I don’t think that’s an easy task. So I think it’s deeper than the interview or whatever you said or didn’t say.”
Richard knew she had a valid point, but he was determined to understand Janet Robinson. Faye’s phone rang, and she searched her purse looking to answer it before the music stopped. She let the voice mail pick up when she saw it was Marcus trying to contact her. She listened to the message and rolled her eyes. She closed the flip top on the phone and looked at Richard.
“Richard, do you mind returning to the hospital with me? I don’t want you to be in the middle of this, but my brother-n-law can make this ugly for Janet. I lead him to believe that you might, well I let him believe that the two of you ….”
“Where is he?
“On his way here, I need to call home. Can you stay around for another thirty minutes?”
Richard smiled, “Anything to stalk you and your sister again.”
“You know; you're entirely different than your appearance projects you to be.”
“Good, then your brother-n-law won’t be the wiser.”
Richard knocked on Janet’s door and waited for her to answer. He agreed with Faye; it would look believable if he was already visiting when Marcus arrived. He hoped Janet would understand their attempt at keeping Marcus in the dark about the real reason Richard had befriended Janet and Faye. He knocked a little louder and opened the door, so he could see if Janet was sleeping.
“Yes.”
“Janet? It’s Richard Burnett, are you up for company?”
He didn’t know how long it would take Marcus to arrive, but the time was limited for small chat. He had what he thought was a short time to explain the plans, he and Faye discussed. Faye went home and left it up to Richard to deal with Marcus, the jealous, cheating husband.
Janet grabbed her robe glad Faye brought her new one from home. She remembered Richard’s voice fading on the phone, although she couldn’t understand his message. Her memory of the interview was a lot more vivid. Richard Burnett, the man with the hypnotizing eyes came to visit her. Maybe Faye was right she still had a job waiting and a boss who had more than an employer’s interest in her. She smiled as he reached to help her adjust the sleeve of her robe.
“I guess your thoughts about me have changed. First, I give you my story of misery and pain and then this. Did you come here to have me fill out my mental release papers?”
Richard flashed the smile of a man who liked what he saw but wouldn’t touch until given permission. Janet was attracted to his subtle personality, but she remembered her judgment of men wasn’t the best. After all she thought she would be celebrating her anniversaries with Marcus for years to come.
“I’m here to make sure you know you’re okay. Do you remember my message I left on the phone?”
Janet hung her head too embarrassed to want to return to what memory she had of that day. The shame would only bring her tears, and she had cried enough over the past few days.
“No, no much of it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I do have papers for you to sign. But more importantly I need to know what your intentions are. Are you still seeking the job and will you accept the help from Faye, Dr. Norris, and me? Your sister said she talked to you this afternoon. I was with her but decided to leave the two of you alone; I’m back for your answer. Maybe if you answer me Faye will stop thinking I’m just a stalker.”
Richard and Janet laughed and talked as though they had known each other for more than five days. Their conversation included discussing the care of the children once she could return to work to what her likes and dislikes were in family recipes. Richard almost forgot about the plans to keep Marcus at bay until Janet mentioned her children by name.
“Marcus Jr., hmm strong name and the only male, does he talk about missing his father?”
“Not as much as the girls do, but they’re younger. He has his activities and friends. Their father has lied so much to them that I believe M.J. ignores him totally, another issue.”
“And do you miss Marcus, your husband?”
“What is that your question, or your friend, the doctor?”
“No, it’s mine. Faye told me Marcus was on his way here, and I want to make sure my presence is not standing in the way of your relationship. I want us to be friends Janet. I don’t want to cause any problems for you or pretend not to be concerned when I am. Maybe I’ll explain it better at another time.”
“No, explain it to us now Mr. Burnett.” Marcus didn’t bother to knock on the partially closed door. He heard only the last two sentences.
“Marcus, this is Richard…..."
“We met. Again, I ask; why are you here?”
Richard pulled out his card. “Janet I don’t know if you have the office phone number with you.”
He was surprised when Janet read between the lines and answered with what one would expect if she and Richard had an intimate relationship brewing.
“I think Faye has my cell. All your numbers are in it. If you speak to her again tonight can you tell her to give it to you to drop off here when you visit tomorrow? She said she’d be with the kids and my mother most of the day.”
Marcus sat in the seat that Richard left open. Although he was standing when Marcus walked in the room, he imagined Richard had a spot on Janet’s bed. He watched the conversation between his wife and this man he didn’t trust hoping he didn’t have to ask him out of the room.
“No problem, anything else. I’ll go by the apartment in the morning do you need anything?”
Janet was slow on her response and a little confused. She was pleased to play the game that Marcus and Karyn played with her early in their relationship. She smiled trying to remember how Karyn did while saying, “We’re just friends." She wanted to laugh in spite of herself. Karyn would pretend she didn’t understand Janet’s anger. Marcus would learn a lesson, and Richard would be the teacher.
“Look in that overnight bag, no hand it to me let me check. You wouldn’t know what I was talking about.”
Richard handed her the bag while Marcus held his tongue. Richard knew the awkward position would elevate her husband’s anger.
“I’m sorry man. I’ll be out in a minute, soon as the little lady sends me on my way.”
“How ‘bout we cut the shit. I’m sending you on your way. This is still my wife, and I call the fucking shots.”
Richard stepped toward the bed with his back deliberately facing Marcus. “What else did you need?” He continued to move around the bed closer to where Marcus was now standing.
“You’re not leaving are you? You just got here.” Janet had reservations about being alone with Marcus.
“I’m gonna step out and give the two of you time to talk. Its six now. How about seven?”
Richard faced Marcus for a nod of approval. When he didn’t get anything but a bitter glare, he turned again and winked at Janet. “I’ll be back sweetie.”
He leaned and kissed her on her forehead. When he turned to step away from the bed, Marcus swung only to get his chin checked by Richard’s right fist. Marcus staggered toward him as Janet screamed.
“Marcus, what the hell is wrong with you?”
Richard sat a slumped Marcus in his seat. “I’ll be back.”

MINI EXCERPT:
I remember the day my life changed from; what I considered normal. It was a Sunday night and my two year old daughter had just returned home with Stephan. After giving her a bath I laid her on the bed and started to lotion her down when she said to me “Daddy put his poo in Katie poo and put his poo in my poo”. Katie was one of the little girls that came over to visit regularly that I found to be one of Stephan’s victims. As the blood rushed to my feet I walked into the living room and told her father what she told me.  Instantly he denied it and tried to explain to me that she just loves her daddy and that sometimes a little girl will fantasize about their daddy in a romantic way. Did I mention she was two at the time?
At that point I realized that these were my babies and it was my job to protect them from the man that had his way with me and controlled my life for fourteen years.  I tossed and turned all night thinking of a plan to protect my daughter. The next day I was in school crying when a voice in my head said “KILL HIM!” I went home with vengeance in my heart, never taking into consideration that if I had killed him and went to jail I would not have anyone to care for my babies.  I was 18 years old and I didn’t have the maturity or experience that it took for me to examine the situation or think about the consequences of my actions.
I walked into the house and he was asleep on the couch. I had not decided on my weapon of choice yet but I remembered thinking of getting a butcher knife and stabbing him. Before I could finish my thought there was a knock on the door.  I opened the door and a heavy set dark skinned guy with big pink lips asked “Is Stephan here?”  I walked into the living room and told Stephan someone was at the door for him. He asked me who was at the door and I responded, “I have no idea”. As he got up off the couch and walked to the door half asleep I became annoyed that my plan to cut his penis off and watch him bleed to death was ruined. I had already pictured giving myself up willingly to the police with a smirk on my face.  I turned to see what was going on at the door and all I saw were white socks being snatched out of the door. This huge guy grabbed Stephan by his neck, snatched him out the door and dragged him down the stairs into a waiting car.  Another guy that was just as big as the guy that knocked on the door was standing next to the car. Stephan was shoved into the car and sandwiched in between both men. Without knowing, but knowing, I knew exactly why that drama just went down........

Mini Excerpt:

As I tried to cry for help once more, the pain in my head worsened. Then strangely, I felt a weird sensation as though my body wanted to drift away. Darkness slowly covered the sky like a window shade, fading everything black.
“Mista,” said a child’s voice, as I returned to consciousness. “Mista? You’re okay now!”
When my eyes focused, I was stunned to see this light-skinned Colored boy with sandy brown hair standing on my property. The boy appeared to be about six or seven, wearing clothes my nephew’s son would normally wear. Yes, the same colorful t-shirt with blue jeans. In his eyes, I noticed a familiarity as if I’d seen him somewhere before.
Amazingly, I was able to get up off the grass, but still wondered whom this child was. “Boy, where you come from?” I firmly asked.
The boy laughed, ignoring my seething intimidation. So I tried again, but this time I stepped closer to him. Looking down onto his tiny body and squinting, I approached him with a firmer tone. “Boy, you got five seconds to get off from my land,” I snapped.
Where did he come from? I wondered, as he, again, ignored my daunting words by laughing them off. Then that kid did something weird. He extended his hand, asking me to come with him. I was stunned and didn’t know what to make of him. Is this boy connected to some of my enemies in town? Is he lost? Or is he just mental?
Once more, I tried to scare him. “Look, boy, didn’t I say get off my land?” I yelled.
The boy didn’t move. He only chuckled.
“That does it,” I huffed, stomping off to my house to get my shotgun to scare him for good, but when I tried to open the screen door, the strangest thing happened. The front door disappeared, and the screen door was nailed shut. I pulled and shook the screen until I thought of running to the backdoor. As I continued my mission to get inside, I noticed from the reflection in the window that something was different. My whitish gray hair had reverted to its original brunette color, and my wrinkly face was ironed out with a youthful glow. Even my limbs were limber as it felt like I was in my twenties.
“What the hell?” I gasped, feeling my face. “What’s going on here?”
Out of confusion, I looked at the little boy. Is this some sort of dream?
I looked beyond the white picket fence to discover the neighborhood I’d known for over fifty years was gone. There were no cars driving down the street, no houses, or paved roads. There was only a dirt road framed with an abundance of trees lining the pathway. Being puzzled was an understatement. I was petrified.
“Where am I? And who are you, boy?”
Again, the boy extended his hand and answered in his tiny voice. “You’re earthly life is over. It’s time for you to begin your journey.”

In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, this book will be available as a free download on Amazon for this weekend only, January 19 - 21st.