The Bad Seed Read online

  What was that about?

  The upper echelon of D.C. high society had mastered the art of slitting your throat while smiling in your face. Maybe she felt threatened by me—my sex appeal had been known to break up marriages, even from across the room.

  I stepped out onto the patio and claimed a quiet corner for myself. I needed some fresh air. I took a sip of my drink and gazed out across the skyline. The iridescent sun sat just beneath the horizon, making its last appearance for the evening. As beautiful as the view was from so high up, my mind drifted. Planning a murder was hard work. I’d talk to Marquis soon to go over the details.

  “Hey, Blues,” someone said after a few moments. When I turned my head, I saw Charles standing before me. Apparently he had slipped away from his barracuda of a wife. He looked dapper in a gray suit, but his face seemed tense. “I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute.”

  “Uhh, sure, I guess.” He stepped in a little closer. I held my breath. I hoped he wasn’t about to proposition me. Usually that was the case with men; as soon as their wives or girlfriends or boyfriends were out of earshot, they’d make their move. I had no interest in Charles and I was gathering my words to cut down any hope he had of getting with me. He was fairly attractive, with sparkling green eyes and blond hair, but I wasn’t about to take him up on any offer.

  “This is awkward,” he began nervously. “I need to ask a favor.”

  Here it comes.

  “Okay. I’m listening.” He shifted uneasily from side to side like a schoolboy about to ask a date to the prom. “What is it?”

  “I need you to talk to Robert for me. Would you put in a good word?”

  “Huh? I don’t understand.”

  “Well, I sort of screwed up this deal the other day and I think he’s planning on firing me. I can’t lose my job…not in this economy. I have a wife and two kids and, if he fires me, I don’t know what we’d do. I want him to give me another chance to make it right.”

  I exhaled. Crisis averted.

  “I don’t know, Charles. I don’t usually get involved in Robert’s business affairs.”

  “Please, at least try. He’ll listen to you. Can you mention how loyal I am to him? How I work really hard; something to get him to reconsider. Anything would help.”

  “How do you know he’s going to fire you?”

  “I just know it. You know how he is when he doesn’t get his way. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it already. I can’t lose my job right now. My family would never recover.”

  He spoke the truth about Robert. If anyone couldn’t or didn’t deliver, he had no issue with replacing them. Robert rarely gave second chances. A few words from me probably would not change anything, but the desperation that sparkled in Charles’ eyes made me want to help him. He genuinely looked scared. I liked Charles and one day I might need a favor from him. It never hurts to have allies.

  “Okay, I’ll do it. I can’t make any promises, though. Like you said, you know how Robert is.”

  “Thank you so much, Blues. I owe you big time.” He smiled and lingered a few seconds longer than he needed. We didn’t have anything else to talk about. “Well, let me get back to my wife.”

  I watched him walk away with his shoulders back, as if a weight had been lifted. I lit a cigarette and stared into the evening sky. I let the melodic sounds of the soul-singer tickle my ears; her voice helped to relax me. Finally, I felt somewhat at peace, if only for a moment. At any second, Robert could burst through the crowd like a bull in a china shop and snatch me out of my peace. Halfway through my cigarette, I heard another voice.

  “Finally, we’re alone,” a soft and sweet voice said. I turned around and saw a beautiful but unfamiliar woman standing behind me, smiling.

  Who is this bitch?

  I didn’t know her and I had no interest in getting to know her. If she was trying to pick me up, she was barking up the wrong tree.

  “Excuse me?”

  I took a moment and looked at the woman. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but I didn’t care to waste any energy trying to figure it out. She was dressed in an elegant but tight, black sleeveless dress that accentuated her ample figure. She was a real beauty, in an urban kind of way, though. There was something slightly rough about her exterior, even though she looked very polished. Her face, perfectly symmetrical, was full of bold African features and Chinese angles; her dark and slightly slanted eyes gave her a bewitching appearance, almost as if she could cast a spell with a simple wink.

  “I’ve been trying to get close to you all night,” she said playfully.

  “Why?”

  “May I?” Before I could respond, she removed the cigarette from between my fingers and brought it to her deadly, crimson lips. She closed her eyes as she inhaled and made a face as if she was inhaling joy itself. “Ohhh, this is good,” she said, shaking her head. “I used to really enjoy these before I quit. I haven’t had a good drag in a long time.”

  When she opened her eyes, she slowly looked me up and down as if trying to scan me or see what was hidden beneath.

  “Now, I see what Robert sees in you. You’re spectacular.”

  Tell me something I don’t know.

  “I’m sorry, but do I know you? Have we met?”

  “We’re meeting now,” she said coolly.

  “Is there something you need from me, Ms…. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

  “That’s because I didn’t throw it,” she said with a wink. “From up here,” she continued, “you must feel like you have the whole world at your feet. Being married to a rich and powerful man provides you with luxuries most people will never know. How does it feel?”

  “It feels great.”

  “I guess you and Robert have a symbiotic relationship; you both get something you need from each other.”

  I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Robert gets the benefit of being married to a hot, young stud and you get access to unimaginable wealth. It sounds like a perfect match.”

  She was seriously starting to get underneath my skin and I really didn’t have the patience to play these little games.

  “I don’t know who you are, but I love my husband very much and he loves me. Now, whoever you are, how about you go back to where you came from and let me enjoy the rest of the night?”

  “Is that any way to treat a lady?”

  I looked her up and down. “Am I looking at a lady?”

  “Ouch,” she said playfully, “that was harsh.”

  “I really don’t mean to be rude, actually I do, but I’d like to be alone now, so you can scurry away.”

  “Don’t you find it hard to be alone in a room full of people?”

  I smiled out of sheer annoyance. “I’ve had just about enough of you. How about you give me back my cigarette?”

  She politely handed it to me. “I see we’ve exhausted our conversation.” She turned on her heels and moved toward the door. “I’ll see you soon, Blues.”

  I doubt that.

  I didn’t know who she was, but she left a bad taste in my mouth.

  CHAPTER 6

  During the planning phase of Robert’s murder, I continued to see Nigel; I saw no reason to stop. We continued to meet weekly, sometimes twice a week if I needed my batteries recharged. In between fucking Robert and Nigel, I was also fucking Marquis. I had to keep him satisfied so I could keep him on my side.

  I couldn’t wait to see Nigel, even as my mood soured. He was forty-five minutes late and I was already on my third cocktail. I didn’t like to be kept waiting and the anticipation of his arrival built up into my system and mixed like a toxin with the vodka. Robert, being his usual crass self, had pissed me off that morning and I had been unable to shake off the bad vibe. Now, Nigel was late and I was agitated.

  Being alone in the room allowed me too much time to think; too much time to remember.

  The dreams kept me awake at night and I was beginning to hate quiet times by
myself.

  Sometimes, I heard things; little voices on the wind or I’d see an image of someone long ago dead and buried. I had done some very bad things in my day; usually, I forgot them as quickly as the deed had been done, but there were a few things over the years that had remained with me. I hoped Robert’s murder wouldn’t be one of them, like Jabari’s had. My soul was bonded to Jabari’s so I understood the lingering guilt; Robert would be different. I didn’t care about Robert. Hell, I didn’t even like him. He was an annoying little tick that was sucking the life out of me.

  Planning a murder was not an easy thing. There were so many things to factor in and so many variables to consider. If one thing fell out of place, suspicion could land on me and I had no intention of going to jail. If Robert were to suddenly die, I’d be the prime suspect in any policeman’s mind. I was much younger, much more attractive, and significantly poorer than Robert, and when the police found out that I’d inherit millions, they’d come after me. Most murders are committed by people the victim knew and if they were married, the spouse was always a prime suspect. I didn’t want to risk letting a detail slip out as the police questioned me, as they were bound to do.

  So, I had to be clever. I wasn’t going to get caught; I was going to get rich.

  Marquis was the perfect person to pull off the murder. He didn’t know who Robert was and he certainly didn’t realize that I’d inherit millions. Marquis thought he was my knight-in-shining-armor and was ready to rescue me from my tyrant of a husband. In his ghetto corner of the world, he had never heard of Robert Douglas or Robert Douglas Enterprises. And, because of his past dealings with the police, I didn’t have to worry about him having loose lips. He lived and would die by the ghetto “no snitch” code and that would serve my cause admirably.

  As I lay across the bed in the hotel suite, I heard a cracking sound coming from the bathroom.

  Crack.

  Crack.

  Crack. Crack.

  I swallowed hard and felt a lump in my throat. I was alone in the hotel room.

  Slowly, I got up and eased my way into the room. I paused from fright. Then, I looked around and realized how silly I was being. I exhaled.

  The room was empty.

  As I turned to exit, I caught a quick glimpse of an image in the mirror—a familiar face that didn’t belong to me. I jumped back and when I looked again, the image was gone.

  I couldn’t believe that I was still feeling this way, after all this time. All this talk of death must have conjured up feelings that I thought had faded. Now, I was dealing with nightmares and ghosts in the mirror. This shit had to end. When Robert died and I inherited his money, I was going to get some serious therapy to deal with my guilt.

  I exited the bathroom cautiously and looked at the clock on the wall. The hour was getting late and Nigel still had not arrived nor had he sent me a text explaining why he was late. Our stolen moments together gave me the strength I needed to deal with Robert and I really needed an injection of energy. Anxiously, I paced across the hotel room, moving nervously from the bed, to the desk, to the chair, and finally to the chair on the balcony, wearing nothing but a white jock strap that contrasted nicely with my dark skin. I tried to shake bad memories from my head, memories of a dead boy that I once loved.

  As I rested in the chair, I looked down at my sculpted legs and was happy that the years of running track were still paying dividends. My body was on point. If someone was watching me from another hotel room, then they surely got an eyeful. I wasn’t ashamed of my body and didn’t give a second thought to any lurking voyeur. In fact, I sometimes welcomed an audience.

  As I sat on the balcony, one leg propped up on the table, blowing nicotine circles into the air, I tried to steady my nerves. My stomach felt like a great ball of serpents hissing and writhing around each other. Why was I so unsettled? Guilt was not an emotion I knew well—living life without a conscience prevented guilt from rearing its ugly head. So, what was happening now?

  A gentle rat-a-tap-tap on the door brought me back to reality. Finally, Nigel had arrived to fuck these memories out of my head.

  I walked calmly over to the door, as if I was in complete control, even though nothing could have been farther from the truth. I still felt unsettled, but it would soon pass. Slowly, I opened the door and as soon as I saw his face, all my troubles faded away. He stood there with a glorious smile carved onto his masculine face and looked me up and down, as if we hadn’t seen each other in months.

  “Are you going to let me in?” he asked, making such a simple question sound seductive.

  I opened the door wider so that he could take in the full sight of my nearly naked body.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” he said in his smooth-as-silk voice.

  I reached out, pulled him into the room by his tie, and slammed the door behind us. Without uttering so much as another word, I pulled him toward the bed, pushed him down onto his back, and immediately mounted him. Before he could protest or say a single syllable, I forced my tongue into his mouth and kissed him aggressively. He had never tasted as good as he did in that moment. He even tasted better than Jabari.

  I sucked his tongue, bit his lips, and took control. His succulent red lips returned, in equal measure, the power of my passion. He wrapped his hands around my waist and held onto me tightly, as if holding on for dear life. I didn’t want him to ever let me go.

  “You’re excited to see me, huh?”

  “A little bit,” I replied between heavy breaths. I no longer cared that he was over an hour late. I gave him a peck on the lips and looked at his honey-colored skin as he smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. His full lips were made especially for kissing, and it was hard for me to resist.

  He stood up with my legs wrapped around his waist and lowered me down on the bed on my back. He towered over me as if he was ready to claim me.

  “I got tied up with Robert and I couldn’t get away.” He was offering an explanation, but at this point, one wasn’t required.

  “I don’t want to talk about Robert.”

  I couldn’t wait for him to be inside me. He stood over me and slowly and seductively began undressing himself. It took more strength than I realized I had to prevent me from getting up and ripping the clothing from his body. My breathing dug into my chest as I watched the various stages of his strip routine.

  His tie fell to the floor.

  Then, his dress shirt and T-shirt hit the carpet.

  I looked hungrily at his thick, golden chest. I wanted to suck on his pink nipples and tug at the line of black hair that separated his pecs.

  Then, he kicked off his shoes and pulled down his pants.

  He stood before me, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs and his black dress socks. I could see his member pulsing in his underwear, threatening to break free from the thin cotton prison that kept it confined. He rubbed it several times before pulling his underwear down just enough for me to see the magnificent head of his perfect prick.

  He took the tip of his right index finger and placed it in his mouth just enough to get it wet and then took the finger and rubbed it seductively across the head. My heart almost leapt out of my chest as I watched him toy with his manhood. I began to salivate and moved toward him. He raised his finger as if to say “stop” and I followed his command. I smiled. He wasn’t finished playing with me. He wanted to work me up into frenzy.

  Finally, he let his briefs fall to the floor around his ankles and he stepped out of them casually. Now he stood before me, completely naked with his dick in his hand, eyeing me. He spit into the palm of his hand and used his saliva as lubrication and began to stroke himself. He started off slowly; then as the pleasure rose, his speed increased.

  His strong hand moved up and down his shaft as I watched with breathless anticipation, waiting for that moment when he would allow me to serve him as only I could. Watching him watch me as he masturbated stirred something deep inside, and it became hard to catch my breath. I had
to have him and the glint in his eye told me that he was ready.

  I jumped off the bed and was kneeling before him within seconds. A long moan rumbled from deep within him and filled the room with his pleasure.

  “Damn, baby. Nobody does that better than you,” he said as he pulled me up and kissed me so deeply, I swear his tongue touched my soul. “I love you so much, baby.” There was something ferocious in the way that our lips met. No part of his mouth was left unexplored by my frenzied tongue. His hands pawed at my flesh, and I dug my fingers into the groove of his back. Passion rose from our heated bodies and filled the space.

  “I want you inside me.” I stood up and crawled into the bed and lay spread eagle. He reached over and grabbed the tube of lubrication I had placed on the nightstand and applied it to me with his thick fingers. He then unrolled a condom over his dick and eased his way into me. He started off gently and gave me enough time to adjust to the invasion. Slowly, he began to increase his speed, applying much more thrust and power behind the weight of his hips, and I felt each push.

  When I looked up and into his eyes, I saw Jabari.

  I closed my eyes and pretended that it was Jabari inside me. I could never escape his memories, not even in that moment. For a second, I believed it was Jabari until the sweat dripped from Nigel’s face onto mine; that forced me to open my eyes. His breathing quickened and I slapped his ass—the way I used to do Jabari’s ass—and forced him to push harder. I wanted him to push so hard that I could feel it in my throat. Then, I could feel his body quake, ready to release. He let out a grunt to announce his powerful orgasm, and I could feel the spewing flames from his lust.

  He took a few quick deep breaths and rolled off me, still heaving from his top-notch performance. He leaned over and kissed me while I continued to masturbate and finally, I gave in to the mounting pleasure. I released all over my chest. He climbed on top of me and pressed his chest to mine, gluing us together in lust. Then, he rolled off me again and rolled onto his back. I rested my head on his chest.