Raymond stood within arm’s reach. If the smoke, fire, or building collapsing didn’t kill him, Garrett being in the same place as Raymond would end in murder, Imani thought.
It would take a miracle, but Garrett needed to find the strength to focus on getting him and Imani out. There would come a time to deal with Raymond, but this wasn’t it. Instead of acting upon his barely contained rage, Garrett barked orders. His eyes never wavered from Raymond’s. “Let’s move this furniture.”
Imani’s face said it all. She was horrified when she saw Raymond running past her.
In a different time and place, they all might have had a chance to process the irony of this situation, but they didn’t have that luxury. Instead, Anthony and Raymond pulled while Garrett and Seth pushed.
The circumstances were dire, but Anthony decided to bring some levity to it. He spoke through gritted teeth. “The executive suite. I always wondered what it was like over here.” Exerting himself to such a degree, his skin, the color of dark chocolate, held a tinted blush.
Within minutes, they had cleared the pathway and opened the emergency exit door. Raymond, knowing that Imani and Garrett were estranged and in the process of a divorce, reached his hands out to help Imani at the same time as Garrett. If the murderous gaze Garrett was giving Raymond was any indication, getting to the bottom of this building would be the least of her worries.
Imani froze. Looking between the two, Imani’s anger and rage returned. Imani didn’t want either man to help her. She refused to make direct eye contact with Garrett or Raymond. She looked straight ahead. Imani wasn’t willing to continue being a pawn in their game.
With adrenaline pumping through her veins, and more than relieved they could get the door opened, Imani answered the unspoken question of who she was going to allow to help her. “We have seventeen flights of stairs to get down before we’re safe. Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
Imani got to her feet and walked past Garrett and Raymond not accepting assistance from either of them. At least for now, she could only thank God that they hadn’t killed each other.
It seemed unfathomable at how much things had changed over the last couple of years. It was like a lifetime ago. Back then, at breakfast with her parents, when her eyes first connected with Garrett’s, all Imani wanted to do was console him and help him through a tough time. Then, their hands touched briefly underneath the table when they said grace. His gentle touch, the hopelessness in his gaze, made Imani want to put the spark back in those eyes. From that moment on, she was thoroughly enchanted by him.
Some people called it insta-lust, but Imani knew it was more likely, insta-love. Garrett had become her everything . . . until the day he’d broken her heart. On that day, Raymond was there for the collapse of it all. He always seemed to be at the center of the chaos offering a helping hand—like today. However, today, Imani would make a choice she wouldn’t have made back then. This time, she chose herself.
Chapter 10
Two years prior
Several hours later, Imani awoke in her old bedroom with a massive headache and surrounded by all her childhood things. She moaned.
Aaliyah had fallen asleep in a rocking chair next to the bed reading a book but instantly woke up the moment she heard sounds coming from Imani. She stretched trying to knock the kinks out of her back and neck then scooted to the edge of her seat. Her voice was groggy from sleep. “Hey, girl. How are you feeling?”
Imani was afraid to move. She remained as still as possible. “I feel as if I were run over by a Mack truck.”
“More like DJ Austin, Shawna’s boyfriend.”
Imani whispered through the pain. “Someone had the nerve to claim her as their girlfriend? Miracles happen every day.”
“Jerks tend to find each other. They’ve been dating for about a year. I’m still trying to figure out when guys started getting involved in their girlfriend’s business? I heard he was unnecessarily rough, but you’re going to be fine. According to Maddon, it was retaliation for your hard hits against Shawna. Honestly, I don’t think the two of you should ever be in the same room. It’s been years since high school, and you’re both still holding a grudge.”
Slowly, Imani touched her forehead with her fingertips and moaned with every movement. There was no way she would ever reveal that it wasn’t the fact her ex-bestie stole her boyfriend, but it was Shawna’s flirting with Garrett that got on her last damn nerve. DJ must have missed that. “Mmmmm . . . true. After all these years, if I hear her name or see flashes of her face in my mind, it still drives me crazy. Betrayal is a hard pill to swallow. I know it’s petty, but it is what it is.”
“You know Maddon. He wasn’t having it. I heard he started to beat the crap out of DJ, then some other players from that other neighborhood jumped in on him.”
Imani lifted her head off the pillow just a bit. “He wasn’t hurt, was he?”
“Maddon’s fine. He’s a bull. However, he was impressed that Garrett didn’t just stand around to watch. He got in on the action along with some other players from our ‘hood. You would think we were all still fifteen years old. It didn’t last long. Smarter heads prevailed and broke up the melee.” Aaliyah let out a little laugh. “Let me
