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Deja squeezed Nina’s hand. “Let’s go inside.”
Nina gazed at her house, her eyes focused on it as if she were in a trance. “I can’t. I can’t go in. Not after what I’ve done.”
Deja wished that Nina had let her give Kevin the last hit. Deja would have killed him with no remorse. If Nina knew Kevin, she wouldn’t have any either. “You saved me, Nina. You saved my life. Now we’re both exhausted. We need to sleep. Everything will be better in the morning. I promise.”
“I can’t,” Nina repeated. “I took a man’s life.”
“He was not a man. He was a monster! He ruined my life, and he finally got what he deserved.”
Nina turned to Deja incredulously. “You were having sex with him. How can you say that? How can you act like this?”
The years of absolute hell that Kevin made her suffer through came to mind. “It was him or me. That’s how it’s always been. You have no idea what it’s like to love someone with every ounce you have, to give yourself to him over and over in the hopes that he’ll love you back, only to have him treat you like you’re nothing. Yeah, I loved him. But I hated him too. He just showed how much he loved me. He would have killed me! He almost did!” Deja’s hand touched her neck, which radiated with pain. She reached into her purse and brought out a pill bottle. “What’s done is done. Now these will help us sleep. We’ll each take one, then let’s go inside. Please.”
Nina upturned her palm, allowing Deja to drop one of the pills in her hand. They both popped one into their mouths. “Okay.” Nina opened the door.
Deja walked around the car, wrapped her arm around Nina’s waist, then helped her to the door.
Rodney met the women in the foyer. “Nina, are you okay? I’ve been calling your phone like crazy for the past hour.”
Before Nina could answer, Deja removed Nina’s phone out of her purse and handed it to Rodney. “I shut it off to prevent drunk calls. We had too much to drink. I know, I know, it’s my fault. But just let her sleep it off, please.”
“Huh?” Rodney asked. “Nina, why’d you even leave and ask Candace to come over?”
“She came to my place. I can’t drive home, either.” Deja brushed past Rodney. “So I’ll just stay the night.” She’d need to make sure Nina didn’t do anything drastic.
Rodney closed the door and headed to the living room. “Whatever.”
Deja held Nina’s hand as they walked to her bedroom. She helped her undress then slipped a nightgown over her head before tucking her into bed. “I’m all gross from the park. Can I take a quick shower?”
Nina nodded, tears spilling down the sides of her face. “I’ll be here.”
In the bathroom, Deja turned on the shower. She needed to compose herself. The image of Nina slugging Kevin with the champagne bottle brought a smile to her lips. She’d wanted to do that exact thing to him on countless occasions over the years. Sure, they’d gotten into fights many times before, but Deja never pushed it too far because Kevin fought to the death. She regretted immensely not being able to be the one to kill him. Without knowing it, Nina had ruined everything. Deja would have to make sure Nina didn’t do anything else that would have repercussions for Deja or Miles.
The steam eased Deja’s tense muscles. When she finally got out of the shower, she lathered herself with Nina’s lotion and vanilla-scented perfume—the expensive stuff Deja couldn’t afford. She left the bathroom and checked on Nina, who was completely out. The pill had worked, and Deja’s eyelids also felt heavy.
Deja needed to make sure Rodney wasn’t too upset with her or Nina. The last thing Nina needed was her husband’s wrath after what had happened. She slipped out of the room and into the pitch-black hall.
“What the hell is going on?” Rodney said.
Deja jumped at his voice. She hated being surprised. She extended her hand to gauge his proximity—less than a foot away from her. “Nina and I made last-minute plans to get together. Don’t be mad.”
“So that’s why you sent that text? I called you after you sent that, but you didn’t answer. Then I get home and my babysitter is here because she said Nina had an emergency. When I try and call Nina, I can’t get through to her phone. Of course, I’m mad. Neither of you had the decency to just call me. And I was worried sick about Nina.”
Deja didn’t correct Rodney about the text message. If he thought she’d sent it to Nina, that would make it easier for her. “You said earlier that you are done with your marriage. Why would you care about Nina now?”
“She’s still my wife. Regardless of the status of my marriage, I don’t want anything bad to happen to Nina. You wouldn’t understand since you’ve never cared about anyone other than yourself.”
Though Rodney’s words stung, Deja wasn’t going to argue with him anymore. “I’m going to go sleep with Nina in case she gets sick.”
Rodney pinched his together lips before saying, “I’ll be on the couch and would appreciate if you leave first thing tomorrow.”
Deja returned to the bedroom. She lay next to Nina and stared at the ceiling, replaying the night’s events. Deja’d moved to San Jose to provide a new start for herself and Miles, but then Kevin found her. It’d been a little over two months since there’d been a knock on her door. She’d opened it, and all hope for a new life had drained from her like rain down a gutter.
Kevin had forced his way into Deja’s apartment and sat on the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. “Home sweet home, huh?” A smirk plastered on his face, he patted the seat next to him.
Deja had remained standing. “I’m planning on paying you back the money I borrowed as soon as—”
“Borrowed?” Kevin laughed. “You stole thousands of dollars from me and disappeared. You still work for me. Don’t forget all the years I’ve supported you and your bastard son.”
Deja seethed at his reference to Miles. “Just give me some time. I have a job here, and I’ll pay you back.”
“I’ve been watching you, Deja. I know all about your job, Miles’s school, your rich friend Nina, and her husband you’re sleeping with. But they don’t know about you. You owe me. In order to pay me back, you’ll have to do exactly what I have planned, and then we’ll be even.”
Deja had listened in disbelief while he’d laid out what he wanted her to do. She wanted no part of his twisted scheme. He was even more evil and conniving than she could have ever imagined.
Nina stirred, and Deja patted her arm. Deja’s eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. As she drifted to sleep, she couldn’t believe how everything had gone terribly wrong tonight. Things had exploded, and she needed to find a way to piece them back together. But what she regretted more than anything was that she hadn’t been able to kill Kevin.