Page 36 of Roark
“Please, wake up, Mama. I need you to open your eyes and talk to me,” she said and paused when her voice was cracking. “I need you to tell me everything’s going to be alright.”
The last was spoken on a whisper. A desperate plea to the woman who’d always made things better for her. But seconds ticked by as Tamika continued to hold tight to her mother’s hand, staring down at her sleeping face, waiting and hoping.
“Please,” she whispered as her eyes filled with the tears she hated so much. “Please, save my mother. Please.”
The plea was spoken into the air, circling in the universe as Tamika closed her eyes and fought with everything she had to keep from crying. It wouldn’t help, and she needed to be stronger than ever now. She needed to find out who’d done this and to make them pay.
Chapter 12
She’d been gone for a couple of hours. But she was coming back. Geoff had said he’d assigned a driver and a car to her because she’d wanted to go and visit her mother. All her things were still in her room, so she was coming back.
Why any of that mattered, Roark had no idea.
He hated the morning after sex, always had and always would.
He planned to hate this one even more, because Tamika had gotten up and left him sleeping in bed. He was used to being the one to leave first. Just as he’d been adamant he wasn’t a snuggler. Yet, that had been what had finally wakened him this morning—the moment he’d rolled over to pull her into his arms once more and realized she wasn’t there.
His laptop beeped with an incoming call, and Roark silently thanked the heavens for the interruption. Pressing the button to wake his screen, he accepted the call and felt a wave of relief when Ridge’s face came into view.
“Hey, man. Just checking in to see how you’re holding up.” It was almost noon on a Monday, but Ridge wasn’t in the office. Roark could tell because his brother’s long locs were hanging free. Even though he’d worn his hair in this style for almost seven years now, Ridge never went into the office or to any business event or meeting with his hair out. It was either pulled back in some professional style or held with one of the many leather bindings Ridge had in his bathroom. His brother was very good at compartmentalizing his professional life from his personal, even as it related to his hair.
“I’m good. What about you? No work today?” Because just as Ridge was particular about his hair, Roark was particular about their family businesses.
“Had a Skype meeting at four with that group in India and their reps who’re in the US. The time zones were all jacked up, but I made myself available anyway.”
“Good move.” Roark sat back and rested his elbows on the arm of the chair. “How ‘bout Suri? Is she getting back to her normal life? I meant to check in with her and Aunt Birdie last night, but I got caught up in something.”
Ridge threw back his head and laughed. “Man, those two are going at it every day and night. Those couple of days I spent with them were out of control. But you know Suri—she’s cool. She can handle Aunt Birdie, and you know Aunt Birdie’s a tough one, she can handle Suri. They’re like a perfect match.”
Roark couldn’t help but smile at the happiness he clearly heard in his brother’s voice. He knew it was just because Ridge was speaking about two people he loved dearly, and not a total depiction of how his brother was doing during his grieving process, but he enjoyed hearing it just the same. “You better not let Suri hear you say they’re a perfect match.”
“Oh no, I have more sense than that,” Ridge said. “What do you have going on out there? I thought you were heading to the country to get some time to yourself.”
Roark wondered how much he should tell his brother. Keeping in mind the disagreement he’d had with his siblings before he’d left London, he wasn’t really in the mood to keep secrets from them again, but he hated talking about the things he still didn’t have an answer for. “Detective Gibbons paid me a visit yesterday.” That was true and could also be considered cryptic. He knew Ridge would push for more details.
“What? Why? We gave him our alibis and told him to contact our solicitor for any further comments. What part of that doesn’t he understand?” Ridge’s smile was gone now.
“There was another fire here, and Gibbons thought it was a coincidence that I was here too.”
“Wait, what? Man, that doesn’t make sense. How did Gibbons even know you were there, and what was he doing out there in the country?” Ridge held up a hand before Roark could respond. “Are you telling me everything?” Again, Roark must not have been quick enough with his response, because Ridge continued. “If you’re holding out on me again, Roark, I swear I’m coming out there, and you’re not gonna like what happens when I arrive.”
“Whoa.” Roark spoke up quickly that time. “Don’t get carried away with the threats, little bro. It’s been a while since we’ve tussled, but make no mistake—”
“Oh my goodness, you’re about to talk about that one time you pinned me down in less than five seconds. I was just recovering from a cold that winter and was still weak when you bullied me into a match. Then you refused a rematch.”
Roark chuckled at the memory. “Champions don’t have to entertain persons they’ve already beat.”
Ridge laughed. “Yeah, whatever. But seriously, man, tell me what’s really going on. We’re in this together.”
“There’s this woman—” Roark paused when he saw Ridge shaking his head.
“Oh, no.”
“Oh, no what?”
“Oh, no if you’re starting off with ‘there’s this woman.’”
“Why do you say that?”
