Insatiable Revenge Read online

  “What? I know you didn’t call me a racist. Let’s get something straight. I don’t like you because you’re a home-wrecker. Your race has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

  Mariah’s breathing sounded labored as she struggled to balance on her feet. “I’ll call your probation officer and tell them you attacked me and tried to hurt my baby.”

  “Mariah. Calm down. I need you to go back to the car and wait for me.” Malcolm attempted to diffuse the build-up of emotion between the two ladies.

  “You gonna let her call me a whore and not do something?” Mariah huffed and poked the side of his head with her finger.

  “Woman, you need to check your tone and stop poking my head,” Malcolm shouted with added base in his voice.

  Mariah leaned away from him with her brows raised. “Aren’t you going to defend me?”

  “Go to the car. Now.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

  Mariah’s eyes welled with tears. If she’d been a different woman, Olivia might have expressed a twinge of sympathy for her. Yet, in knowing who she was, Olivia didn’t care about how Malcolm spoke to her.

  “You heard him. Leave,” Olivia added for good measure.

  Mariah’s face fell into a pout. Sobbing, she grunted and struggled to bend to remove her shoes before waddling barefoot on the pavement to the car.

  Their audience murmured, with someone exclaiming, “Wow. Did you hear how Dr. Maxwell told her to leave?”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “That lady is one of the women he cheated with.”

  “Is she pregnant?”

  “I recorded the whole thing.”

  “I would’ve slapped her hand out of my face, too.”

  “She ain’t even cute. Dr. Maxwell is prettier.”

  As quick as the audience tuned in to the reality show playing out in real-time, the animated crowd stopped paying attention to them and returned to their own business.

  Olivia rested her fingertips on her cheek in disbelief of the dramatic scenario. “What the hell?”

  “Don’t call Mariah a whore. She’s my fiancée now and soon-to-be stepmother to Christian and Simone. You could show some respect.”

  “Why would I give her any kind of respect? Both of you disrespected our marriage and family,” Olivia said through clenched teeth. Her body shivered from fury.

  “Look. Will you let me explain?” Malcolm begged.

  “Say what you have to say and I’m out of here. I’ve wasted enough time with you and this nonsense.” She turned and crossed two aisles to get to her vehicle, followed by Malcolm. She started the car with the key fob to warm it up.

  “Mariah and I got engaged last month. She lives with us. I wanted to tell you myself, which is why I instructed the kids not to share anything with you. Don’t be mad at them. I knew how you would react. I would’ve said something sooner. I didn’t know when a good time would be,” Malcolm explained.

  “A good time?” Olivia released a sinister laugh and cocked her head. “A good time to tell me you got engaged to one of the many women you cheated on me with? Or to let me know she lives in the same place as my children?”

  “Both,” Malcolm answered matter-of-factly.

  “This could almost be laughable. It’s like I’m getting punked. Someone with a camera is about to jump out and tell me this is all a joke. Am I on TV?” Olivia clapped her hands in fake excitement and peeked around to find a filming crew.

  “Olivia, I’m not trying to be funny.”

  “No one said this is funny. It’s quite sad. For our children. I’m not understanding why you’re doing all of this. How did you expect me to respond?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, you did set our house on fire,” Malcolm began before realizing his mistake. He raised his palms in surrender. “Don’t take it the wrong way. I don’t want you going back to jail for seeking revenge on me again. I figured we could discuss this with sensible civility today.”

  Olivia couldn’t speak if she wanted to. She reprimanded herself for being crazy enough to marry such a stupid man. She opened and closed her hands, stretching her fingers to remove thoughts about body slamming Malcolm.

  “Olivia? Olivia? Do you hear me?” Malcolm snapped his fingers three times.

  She centered herself before responding. “Have you told the kids about moving to Miami yet?”

  “No. I figured it would be better if we told them together.”

  “Oh, of course. We need to tell them about their new family.

  I assume you want Mariah to be there, too?” Olivia asked with open derision.

  “I think it would be a good idea.”

  “I can’t believe you think I’m serious.” Olivia’s eyes blinked with incredulity. “She is not to be around when we explain to our children what’s going on. I don’t ever need to lay my eyes on Mariah again. I can’t believe you’ve had them living with her all of this time.”

  “There you go being a drama queen,” Malcolm sneered.

  “Malcolm, you’d better tread light on your toes. There ain’t much air left in your life raft now. I’ll find a knife to jab a hole in it,” Olivia threatened. “I’m going to come by your place next weekend for us to have a conversation with the kids, without Mariah.”

  Malcolm released a labored sigh. “I thought this is what’s best for Simone and Christian.”

  “Well, you thought wrong. I want to rip a hole in your head for planning to move my children far away from me without my permission. As soon as I complete my counseling requirements, I’m filing a petition to seek child custody modification and get them back to San Antonio as soon as possible. Once we have our hearing, move to Timbuktu for all I care. This is the way it’s going to be. I have nothing else to say to you.”

  Olivia entered her car, slammed the door, and screeched from the lot leaving Malcolm behind.

  FOUR

  Savvy

  “You weren’t playin’ when you said this place has the best shrimp and grits.” Kolby smacked his lips and placed another fork full of food into his mouth.

  “I told you. They don’t mess around when it comes to food. The owners are from New Orleans who relocated here after Hurricane Katrina.” Savvy sipped on a cup of chicory coffee. The restaurant bustled with the accordion sound of zydeco music playing in the background.

  “I need to get some of those beignets for the road.” Kolby pointed to her plate. “How do you eat fried dough and stay so fine?”

  “It’s one of the reasons why I work out,” Savvy stated with confidence. She licked powdered sugar from each of her fingers. “I eat what I want without worrying.”

  “You don’t need to work hard. You have the kind of body a man loves.” Kolby’s eyes wandered across her from head to toe.

  “Stop embarrassing me.” Savvy’s cheeks warmed with a blush.

  “Why can’t women accept a compliment from a man?” Kolby questioned. He tipped back in his chair without taking his eyes from her face.

  “I can’t speak for all women. I don’t know how to respond when you express it the way you do.”

  “Say, thank you. That’s it,” Kolby instructed and shrugged. “Let a man tell you how fine you are. If we don’t tell you, women start trippin’ and talkin’ ‘bout how we never say anything nice.”

  Savvy giggled. “You can’t be further from the truth. Okay. I appreciate your compliment. Thank you.”

  “There you go. Has anybody ever told you how cute your dimples are?”

  “You keep the compliments coming, don’t you?” Savvy crossed her legs and sat back in her seat to get a better look at him. “Yes. I hear it all the time. I bet you do, too.”

  “Yeah. One of my better features.” He wiggled his tongue in his cheek.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard you favor a certain celebrity.”

  Kolby shook his head and smacked his lips in defiance. “I know who you’re talkin’ about. I don’t look like tha
t brother. He ain’t got nothing on me.”

  “This isn’t a competition. You two could pass for twins, except Idris doesn’t have dimples.”

  “He’s old.”

  “He’s not old. I think he’s about my age,” Savvy exclaimed. “Wait. How old are you?”

  “How old do you think I am?” Kolby smiled and turned to show his profile. “I know you’ve been trying to figure it out.”

  “Boy. I don’t know. Tell me.” Savvy swatted him on his arm. She fought back a smile at the feel of his muscles.

  “Guess,” he teased.

  “Okay. Don’t get mad if I’m way off. I think you’re about…” Savvy squinted to study him. “Forty-five?”

  “Not even close. I’m fifty-nine.” Kolby stuck his chest out with pride.

  Savvy’s mouth popped open. “No way. You are lying. I can’t believe you’re almost sixty.”

  “Ten more months and I’ll be an old man on paper.” He flexed his arms in a bodybuilder pose.

  “I need access to your fountain of youth. You don’t even look like you’re fifty anything. I could’ve sworn you were still in your forties.”

  “Thank you for the compliment. Okay. Your turn now. How old are you?”

  “None of your business,” Savvy replied with haughtiness.

  “Wait a minute. Why do women always hide their age? I told you mine.”

  “You sure did. I’m not telling you my age. Forget about trying to find out.”

  “Unh-huh. Okay. I see how you are.” Kolby tilted his head and peered at her. “You got something to be ashamed of or something?”

  “Not at all. It’s not polite to ask a woman her age.” Savvy wagged her finger.

  “Why is it okay to ask a man? Why the double standard?”

  “It’s the way it is.”

  “Okay. Well, my guess is…” He imitated the way she studied him. “Hmm. Not a day over thirty.”

  “Boy, please. You know I’m much older than thirty.”

  “You callin’ me a liar? I call it as I see it. You have good genes if you’re any older.” Kolby flashed a flirtatious grin.

  “Beautiful all the way around.”

  “Enough with the compliments. I’m getting a big head now.”

  “You should.” Kolby leaned in and stared in her eyes. “Tell me somethin’. Are you single or do you have a husband waiting for you at home?”

  Savvy hadn’t quite decided how much to share with Kolby. It had been a long time since she’d been in a serious relationship. All of her dates resulted in casual friendships. She squinted at him before responding, “Yes. I’m single and I don’t have any kids. Never been married.”

  “No way. What’s a fine woman like you doing single?”

  Savvy let out an exasperated sigh. “I wish I knew.”

  “You must be playing hard to get. Or you probably expect too much from a man. You should’ve been married by now with at least two or three kids.”

  Savvy sneered. “Why should I play easy to get or not have any expectations? A woman should have some level of standards, right?”

  “I’m messin’ with ya. Don’t be so uptight with a brotha.” Kolby held his hands in front of himself as if to protect against her.

  “Are you married? Do you have children?” Savvy shot the questions back at him.

  “I had a wife. She had other plans. No kids. I didn’t want to bring them into this crazy world we live in. Do you come from a big family? You seem like you would be the oldest child.”

  Savvy laughed. “You’ve got me all wrong. I’m an only child. Me and my parents.”

  “I bet you were spoiled rotten.”

  Savvy shook her head. She decided to change the subject.

  “Since you’re asking me all of these questions, may I ask you something personal?”

  Kolby’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “I’m an open book, sweetheart. Ask me anything.”

  “Tell me about the tattoos on your arm.” Savvy pointed to his left bicep. “Why do you have a picture of a revolver with six bullets dripping with blood above the name, Sanai?”

  Kolby wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes appeared haunted by inner pain. The smile on his face dropped to a dark, smoldering look. He ran his tongue across his lips before responding. “My homegirl, Sanai, was murdered.”

  Savvy slapped her hand to her mouth.

  Kolby continued. “After leaving a party one night, her car broke down outside of Dallas on a country road. She tried to find help at a house on a ranch. Some hillbilly claimed he thought he had an intruder when Sanai banged on the door. He met her on the porch with a shotgun and put a hole in her chest.”

  “Oh, no,” Savvy exclaimed.

  “He murdered a woman who wasn’t even five-feet tall as if she were a threat. He got off. No conviction.” Kolby chewed his bottom lip in reflection. “I vowed I’d handle her killer myself even if it cost me my life behind bars.”

  Savvy remained silent and listened. Sadness clouded her mind.

  Kolby gazed at his tattoo. He massaged the gun on his arm with his hand. “These bullets represent each of the ones I planned to put into the killer’s body. I’ll never forget Sanai for as long as I live. I got this tat the day after I found out he wouldn’t do any time in the pen. The punk who took her life discovered he messed with the wrong one.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “I can’t tell you. You don’t need the details. Believe me, he’ll never hurt anyone again.” Kolby nodded his head as if satisfied with whatever the resolution turned out to be.

  “Did you spend time in prison?” Savvy asked with caution.

  “Not for this situation.” Kolby leaned closer to the table and lowered his voice. “Savvy, there are things I’m not proud of in my past. It will send you running in the other direction. One day, if you still want to learn more about me, we’ll talk.”

  “I see.” Savvy absorbed his comments. “I can’t begin to imagine losing a friend the way you lost Sanai. I’m sorry about your loss.”

  “Thank you. With the hole it left in my heart, you’d think this happened yesterday. Sometimes street justice is the best way to find peace.”

  Words couldn’t fill the emptiness at the moment. The sounds of the restaurant surrounded them as seconds ticked by.

  “Well, um.” Savvy scratched her neck.

  “Sorry to bring you down. It’s okay. I’m glad you asked. Most people develop their own stories about someone based on the ink on their bodies. I don’t mind talking about mine.” Kolby ran his fingers across the tattoos on his neck. “One day, I’ll show you the angel I have on my back and some of the others I got in different years.”

  “Okay. I’d like to check them out sometime,” Savvy agreed with sincerity. She didn’t have an interest in tattoos for herself, yet viewed them as works of art.

  “I’ll show you something else instead,” Kolby whispered.

  Savvy clutched imaginary pearls at her neck. “Excuse me?”

  Kolby chuckled. “Get your mind out the gutter, woman.”

  “I didn’t know what you were talking about. What do you want to show me?”

  Kolby leaned toward her and lowered his wife-beater shirt further down his chest. His right pectoral muscle filled Savvy’s eyes as he revealed more tattoos. A picture of a lion with an opened mouth covered his skin. It took everything in her not to reach out to pet it.

  Kolby pointed near the center of his chest to a blackened round, nickel-sized puncture. “See this right here?”

  Savvy squinted and peered where he had his finger on the lion’s eye. “Yes. It looks like a scar. What happened?”

  Kolby let his shirt go to cover his chest. “It’s a bullet hole.”

  “You were shot?” Savvy exclaimed and leaned away.

  “Yup. The bullet traveled straight through my body and exited out of my back. It buzzed only inches away from hitting my spine
and any major organs.” Kolby puffed his chest with what appeared to be a badge of honor.

  “Wow. You’re blessed to be alive. Why did someone shoot you?”

  “I got into a fight. This brotha kept looking at me funny at a nightclub where I hang out. I stepped to him and asked him whassup. He put his hands on me and I told him to take it outside. I started to whale on him and he realized he wasn’t big and bad anymore. I punched him like Mike Tyson.” Kolby’s eyes widened and he bared his teeth as he relived the memory. “I finished with him and started to go to my car when he said somethin’ to me. I turned around and that’s when he shot me. Boom.”

  Savvy’s mouth gaped open. “My goodness. What a horrible story. Did this happen when you were a teenager?”

  “Nah. Five years ago.”

  “Five years ago? You’re a grown man in your fifties worrying about somebody looking at you? Do you get into a lot

  of fights?”

  “Not anymore. I show homies they can’t disrespect me. I ain’t got no beef with no one if they mind their own.” Kolby pounded his fist into his palm. “Otherwise, they gonna learn not to mess with me.”

  “But he didn’t do anything except look at you. Why did you get upset about something minor?” Savvy asked with true curiosity.

  Kolby’s eyes blazed. “He sized me up. I guess he wanted to step to my lady friend. He thought I blocked his game.” Spittle sprayed from his lips.

  “Oh. I see. Well.” Savvy glanced at her watch.

  “I see you checking the time. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “No. It’s okay. You shared something personal. I can’t even imagine all you experienced in healing from a bullet going through your chest.”

  “Yeah. Sometimes, things get out of hand. I’m much better about handling punks now. Don’t worry,” Kolby reassured.

  “I sure hope so.” Savvy twisted her lips in doubt. “Well, I better get going.”

  “Can you spare me a few more moments with you?” Kolby pleaded.