Kissing The Winds Of A Shadow

AUGUSTA POINT ESTATE  
Baton Rouge, Louisiana  

Jonathon heard his telephone ringing. He rolled over.  
 
A woman’s physique met his chest. He rolled the other way. Another woman’s back met his presence.  
 
The telephone continued to ring.  
 
“Dammit.”  
 
Jonathon sat up and removed the condom from off his flaccid manhood; he threw it across the bedroom. He looked down at the two women who shared his bed throughout the night.  
 
“You two are some non-fucking bitches,” Jonathon uttered under his breath. He reached over the arm of one of the women and lifted the telephone receiver from off the cradle. He placed it up to his ear.  
 
Jonathon leaned his back against the chrome headboard.  
 
“This shit better be worth my time.”  
 
“Mr. Huntington, you are never going to believe who just walked through the doors of the Royal Street Inn.”  
 
Jonathon slicked his hand back through an abundance of wavy jet-black hair.  
 
“It’s too early in the damn morning for guessing games.”  
 
“Ragan.”  
 
“Man, I told you to leave that nose powder alone. It tends to hinder you from thinking straight, or seeing shit clearly.”  
 
“Mr. Huntington, I tell you Ragan is staying at this Inn, and she has checked in under the alias Rajeen..., Rajeen Nadia Whitlow.”  
 
“That sounds like something that bitch would do.”  
 
“Pete, do not let that bitch out of your sight. Get one of my men to follow her wherever she goes.”  
 
“Mr. Huntington, I think she is here for another purpose, other than to retrieve the diamonds your step-brother left in her possession.”  
 
“That stupid bastard just had to fall for the bitch’s pussy.” Jonathon palmed his chin. “Is she alone?”  
 
“Yes.”  
 
“Good. I need you to put Emanuel on her tail for now.”  
 
“Yes sir.”  
 
“If he loses her. You and he both die.”  
 
“Yes sir.”  
 
“I will be there in an hour.”  
 
Jonathon slammed the telephone receiver down in the cradle.  
 
No that bitch did not show her face back in New Orleans, especially after she conned his dumb ass step-brother in stealing a shipload of diamonds from him, and then passing him off a counterfeit shipment. Luck will have it, his step-brother was shanked in prison, because if he were still alive, he would have personally killed him. He wondered if his step-brother’s hide-a-way whore hid the diamonds in a safe deposit box somewhere in New Orleans.  
 
Jonathon shook both women on their shoulder.  
 
“Get the fuck up, and get out!”  
 
Both woman rolled over and snuggled closer to Jonathon.  
 
Jonathon reached over and lifted his 9mm semi-automatic weapon from off the nightstand. He aimed it at the ceiling and squeezed the trigger.  
 
The women opened their eyes, and bolted to a sitting position.  
 
“I said get the fuck out!”  
 
The door opened.  
 
A man with his gun drawn ran into Jonathon’s bedroom. He stopped and looked around.  
 
“You need me boss.”  
 
“PJ, pay these cheap whores, and then ditch them.”  
 
“Sure boss.”  
 
“Come on you two.” PJ snapped his fingers.  
 
The two women looked at each other.  
 
“Hurry up dammit!”  
 
Both women climbed out the bed and ran into the bathroom.  
 
“PJ, I need you to have my car inspected and ready to go in twenty minutes.”  
 
“Sure boss.”  
 
PJ walked to the bathroom, and banged on the door.  
 
“Hurry the fuck up, before I start shooting.”  
 
The bathroom door opened. The two women rushed out.  
 
“Come on.”  
 
PJ escorted the two women out Jonathon’s bedroom. He pulled the door close.  
 
Jonathon placed his weapon on the nightstand, jumped out the bed, and ran into the bathroom. He slid the shower door open and stepped in; he slid the door close and turned on the water faucet knobs.  
 
Jonathon pressed the shower lever down.  
 
ROYAL STREET INN  
New Orleans, Louisiana  
 
Nadia placed her suitcase and overnight traveling bag on the bed, and her purse on the nightstand. She opened her suitcase, removed a stack of folded clothes, and walked over to the dresser; she opened the drawers and placed everything inside. She closed both drawers back and walked back to the bed. Nadia opened her overnight traveling bag, and removed all the enclosed items. She gathered everything in both hands and walked back over to the dresser. She assembled several items on top of the Oakwood surface.  
 
Nadia glanced around her hotel accommodations.  
 
“Very nice Manuel.” She walked inside the spacious bathroom. “Ooh, this is very nice.”  
 
The Jacuzzi bathtub was roomy enough for two people or more.  
 
Nadia placed her toiletries on the vanity. She looked into the mirror, fluffed her curls, and straightened the white double-breasted suit jacket. She pivoted her body to get a posterior view. The Capri white matching pants emphasized her derrière.  
 
Nadia returned to the bedroom. She walked across the room, opened the French double doors, and stepped out onto the balcony.  
 
She knew once nightfall becomes evident, Royal Street to Canal Street would come alive with the soothing sounds of jazz and mass tourists. She leaned over the wrought-iron railing and looked down. She looked up across her balcony.  
 
An African American man stood on his balcony. His eyes were pinned directly on her.  
 
“I see the men down here still look the same, wickedly handsome, and hopefully available.” Nadia smiled at the man. The man did not crack a smile. “Arrogant also as I remembered.” She returned the man’s open stare.  
 
The broad-shouldered man’s sunglasses obscured his eyes.  
 
Nadia shivered at the man’s aloofness. She turned around, stepped back inside her hotel room, and closed the French double doors; she pulled a curtain aside and peeped out.  
 
The man’s eyes remained centered on her balcony.  
 
“He wasn’t all that good looking anyway.”  
 
Nadia stepped out of her Prada sandals and removed her clothes. She aligned her garments across the bottom of the bed, and then placed her suitcase and overnight traveling bag on a blue velvet settee. She flipped the duvet back, slid under the satin covers, and pulled them up. She pivoted and lifted the clock from off the nightstand.  
 
Nadia set the alarm to awaken her in an hour. She placed the clock back down, patted her pillow, and slumped under the covers. Her eyes immediately closed.  
 
RANCH VALLEY ESTATES  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
 
Sterling pulled his vehicle into his driveway, turned off the ignition, and pulled the key out. He unsnapped his seatbelt and pivoted to grab the grocery bag from off the passenger seat. He opened the car door, stepped out, and pushed the door close. Sterling walked up seven steps to his front door. He inserted the key inside the lock and turned it. He withdrew the key and opened the door; he entered his home and kicked the door close.  
 
Sterling tossed the set of keys on a leather wingback chair. He walked into the kitchen and sat the bag of grocery down on a glass table. He turned on the answering machine. He listened to his messages while he put the food items away. He desperately wanted to hear Nadia’s voice. What the fuck was he thinking? She is in New Orleans fucking some other dick.  
 
Sterling looked down at his telephone. Damn, he wanted to call her so bad.  
 
“What the fuck, why not.”  
 
Sterling lifted the cordless telephone receiver from off the top of his cooking island and pressed in a button. He pushed in the ten numbers to Nadia’s cell phone and placed the receiver up to his ear.  
 
ROYAL STREET INN  
New Orleans, Louisiana  
 
Nadia heard her cell phone ringing. She opened her eyes, turned over, and reached for her purse.  
 
Where was her purse? Nadia looked over at the door.  
 
“Well, it appears Sleeping Beauty has finally graced me with her presence,” a deep man’s voice stated from across the room.  
 
Nadia lifted her head from off the pillow.  
 
A man sitting in a Victorian armchair near the entry foyer of her hotel room startled her.  
 
Nadia quickly sat up.  
 
“Who…, who are you? And how did you get in my room?” She pulled up the fallen covers.  
 
“If you want to make it back to...” Jonathon lifted Nadia’s identification card. “Las Vegas, then I suggest you keep your mouth close and listen.”  
 
Nadia looked at the man and then looked down at the floor.  
 
All the contents that were inside her purse were scattered on the carpet.  
 
Jonathon stood and dropped Nadia’s ringing cell phone on the carpet. He crushed it under his foot.  
 
“My cell phone.”  
 
“Such a nuisance tone.”  
 
Jonathon threw Nadia’s identification card on the floor.  
 
Nadia looked at the man who walked over to the French double doors and locked them.  
 
Jonathon turned back around and placed his hands inside his front pants pockets.  
 
“So you’re the infamous woman who I’ve heard such pleasing things about?”  
 
“It all depends what pleasing things you’ve heard.”  
 
Wow the man was very tall with a robust build she thought.  
 
His light skin tone gave dominance to his Louisiana Creole ancestry. A pencil thin goatee circled a pair of generous lips. She has never known a man with stern dark-brown eyes that were so intense and fathomless in size. She took notice of his jet-black wavy hair, which slightly dangled past the base of his neck. She paid homage to the man’s muscular arms and widen chest wall. His expensive smelling cologne ventilated the cool air in her hotel room. She wondered why everyone around here wore white. He was no exception in his white double-breasted suit. She had to admit, it fitted his tall physique and the coloring of his skin tone very well.  
 
Nadia saw the outline of a pistol stuffed in the side of the man’s pants. She tucked her covers under her legs.  
 
RANCH VALLEY ESTATES  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
 
Sterling replaced the cordless phone back into the telephone base. Maybe her ignoring his call was a blessing in disguise. Sterling walked into the living room.  
 
“Make sure you know whom you are making love too, no substitute is, or will be allowed.”  
 
Apparently, he was substituted for Manuel.  
 
Sterling climbed the staircase to his bedroom.  
 
ROYAL STREET INN  
New Orleans, Louisiana  
 
Nadia looked down at her compressed cell phone again.  
 
Jonathon walked around Nadia’s hotel room.  
 
“Ragan, it appears you have something that belongs to me.”  
 
Nadia reached over for the bedside telephone.  
 
“You pick up that phone, you die today.”  
 
Nadia sat back against the wooden headboard.  
 
“My name is not Ragan, my name is Nadia.”  
 
Jonathon lifted a bottle of Nadia’s perfume and sniffed it. He placed it back down on the dresser.  
 
“From what I could see. It appears you have carved a nice life in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, you will not make it back there alive, until you give me what I want.”  
 
Jonathon straightened his black silk tie and turned away from the mirror. He walked around to the side where Nadia sat. He opened his suit jacket and sat down inches from her.  
 
Nadia inched away.  
 
“Ragan, I really do not want to hurt you, but my step-brother has entrusted you with something that’s precious as life itself, my diamonds.”  
 
“I do not know who this Ragan woman is. And I seriously doubt I know your step-brother.”  
 
Jonathon scooted closer to Nadia. He firmly grasped her chin.  
 
“If you do not return my diamonds to me. Your body will be found floating in the Louisiana bayou. In the meantime, until I get my diamonds. You will remain under the watchful eye of PJ. You do remember PJ.”  
 
Nadia pushed Jonathon’s hand away.  
 
“I am an Investigative Journalist. I am only here to investigate the past crimes of a party who may have a bearing on the Las Vegas Slasher murders.”  
 
“You are a very consummate liar.”  
 
“I am not this Ragan woman.” Nadia pointed to her identification card on the carpet. “Well, you’ve already checked out my identity yourself.”  
 
Jonathon looked into Nadia’s eyes.  
 
“I see why my step-brother may have fallen for you. You are very convincing.”  
 
Not to omit, gorgeous as fuck he thought.  
 
Jonathon rubbed over Nadia’s cheek.  
 
Nadia moved her face away.  
 
Jonathon grasped Nadia’s chin again.  
 
“Dammit, I want my diamonds by the end of the week, or you will not see the next.”  
 
“I am an Investigative Journalist for the Las Vegas Times Newspaper. I do not even know this Ragan woman. You may call my Chief Editor Manuel Addison. He will confirm my story. I have an interview with Police Chief Hansin from the New Orleans Police Department, which I am expected this afternoon.”  
 
Jonathon studied Nadia.  
 
“Ragan, I will not be put off any longer, get dressed.”  
 
“I am not this woman, please.”  
 
“Put your clothes on, we’re going for a little ride.”  
 
She was about to meet her creator, and for what, being mistaken for another woman?  
 
Nadia looked over at the dresser; she secured the covers around her chest area.  
 
“Get dressed!”  
 
“Can you give me some privacy please?”  
 
“Ragan, if I wanted your pussy, I would already have my dick inside of you. Now get your fucking ass out the bed, and get dressed, now dammit!”  
 
Nadia scooted to the other side of the bed and got out. She ran to the dresser and fumbled to pull the drawer out. She lifted a black strapless mini-dress and pushed the drawer close.  
 
Jonathon turned around. He looked over at Nadia’s bare back, he liked the light hue of her skin tone.  
 
What a shapely ass he thought.  
 
Nadia quickly stepped into the dress and pulled it up her legs. She watched the man’s advancement through the mirror. Shit. She tried to zip her dress up from behind.  
 
Jonathon glided his hands over Nadia’s bare back. He gauged her reactions in the mirror.  
 
“I’m curious. What was it that my step-brother saw in you to trust you with my diamonds. Was it your ass? Your brains?” Jonathon turned Nadia around.  
 
Nadia tried to step around Jonathon.  
 
“What was it Ragan?”  
 
“I do not know. You will have to ask this person who you speak of.”  
 
“It must have been the breasts?”  
 
Jonathon pulled the top of Nadia’s dress down and lifted one of her breasts. He leaned down and kissed the flourished nipple. He licked up the slim column of her neck. “Was it the taste of your smooth skin? The smell of your feminine essence.” Jonathon looked down into Nadia’s eyes. “Or was it this?” Jonathon dipped his hand under Nadia’s dress and teased the lips of her pussy. “It must have been well worth it.” Jonathon pulled his hand from under Nadia’s dress, stuck a finger inside his mouth, and wetted it. “Did you bring my step-brother to his knees when you fucked him senseless?” Jonathon placed his hand back under Nadia’s dress. He stuck a finger inside her pussy and wiggled it.  
 
Nadia briefly closed her eyes and reopened them.  
 
Jonathon leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Or, did you have my step-brother begging for this, begging to taste you.” Jonathon implanted his finger deeper.  
 
“Uuh,” Nadia squealed under her breath.  
 
Jonathon licked the side of Nadia’s neck; he retracted his face mere inches from hers.  
 
Nadia looked up into Jonathon’s eyes.  
 
If she shows no fear, she may live another day she thought.  
 
Jonathon removed his finger and smelled it. “Fresh.” He stuck the same finger back inside his mouth. “Very tasty, which eventually I will come to experience.”  
 
Wishful thinking.  
 
“Could…, could you step back please? I am trying to get dressed.”  
 
And thanks a lot for getting my pussy all wet also.  
 
Jonathon looked down into Nadia’s eyes. He stepped back.  
 
Nadia pulled the dress up.  
 
Jonathon turned Nadia around. He slowly zipped her dress up. He kissed the back of her neck.  
 
Nadia turned around and met Jonathon’s muscular chest wall. Her soft breasts pressed up against his physique.  
 
Jonathon planted both hands on the side of Nadia’s hips and leaned forward. Nadia had to inch up on the dresser to establish her distance. She looked over Jonathon’s shoulder; she refused to look into the man’s eyes.  
 
“I need to get my shoes.”  
 
“My step-brother advised me you can be a handful at times. According to him, you like to play games.”  
 
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
 
“For some reason. You do not understand the dire consequences you will face if my diamonds are not returned to me.” Jonathon leaned closer. “Or, you simply crave the thrill of danger.”  
 
Nadia leaned back. Her back met the mirror.  
 
“I am only here for…”  
 
“Yes I know, an investigative story.”  
 
Jonathon looked over Nadia’s smooth facial complexion. Her eyes were an unusual shade he would hate to see permanently closed for good. Jonathon outlined the fullness of Nadia’s lips. He inched his head down.  
 
Nadia moved her face sideways.  
 
Jonathon smiled. He held the woman’s life in his hands, yet she was sassy, as well as stubborn.  
 
“I..., you asked me to get dressed.”  
 
Jonathon stepped back.  
 
Nadia sat up and slid off the dresser. She walked over to the bed.  
 
Jonathon liked the way her hips swayed when she walked. He noticed her buttocks jiggled and her legs and thighs were toned. Jonathon cleared his throat. He refuses to make the mistake of trusting any woman’s pussy like his dumb ass step-brother did.  
 
Nadia stepped back into her white pair of Prada Stiletto sandals. She walked back over to the mirror.  
 
“Shit. Can you please pick my brush up from off the floor?”  
 
Jonathon arched his eyebrows at the audacity of Nadia’s question.  
 
Nadia pivoted. “Please.”  
 
Jonathon walked over to where he dumped the contents out Nadia’s purse. He squatted and lifted the brush.  
 
“You want anything else while I’m down here?”  
 
“Yes, my tube of lipstick.”  
 
Jonathon lifted the tube of lipstick and stood. He walked back to where Nadia stood and handed her the requested items.  
 
“Thank you.”  
 
Jonathon stood back and looked on.  
 
Nadia brushed her hair until her soft natural curls fell loosely over her shoulders. She placed the brush on the dresser and uncapped the tube of lipstick. She filled in the pattern of her lips, and recapped it; she set the tube down on the dresser.  
 
Nadia turned around to face Jonathon.  
 
“May I ask where we’re going?”  
 
“No you may not.”  
 
“I really do have somewhere special to be. My editor has set up an interview on my behalf. And I’m sure, you would not want to be the culprit to upset Chief Hansin. If my presence is not accounted for. My editor will panic, and I’m sure your illegal dealings will be exposed.”  
 
“For a person whose blood is embedded in this kind of life. You are a poor liar. In addition, as far as Police Chief Hansin is concerned. He will understand you postponed the interview until tomorrow. Now let’s go.”  
 
Jonathon grabbed Nadia by her upper arm and ushered her to the door.  
 
LAS VEGAS TIMES NEWSPAPER  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
 
Manuel looked down at his watch, and then up at the clock on the wall. He stood, walked to the door, and opened it.  
 
“Dale, I need you in my office.”  
 
Dale grabbed an ink pen and his note pad. He walked to Manuel’s office door.  
 
Manuel walked around his desk and took a seat.  
 
“What is it?”  
 
“Come in and have a seat.”  
 
“Sure.” Dale entered Manuel’s office and closed the door. He walked over to Manuel’s desk and took a seat across from him. “What’s up?”  
 
“Have you talked to Nadia?”  
 
“No, why?”  
 
“I know this may sound strange, but you can’t blame an old man for worrying.”  
 
Dale sat up.  
 
“What is it Mr. Addison?”  
 
“I have not heard from Nadia.”  
 
“She’s probably at home.”  
 
“Not quite. I sent her out on a field assignment.”  
 
“Manuel, Las Vegas is not that big.”  
 
“I sent her to New Orleans this morning.”  
 
“Manuel, if you haven’t noticed, Nadia is a tough woman. I’m sure she is taking in the sights.”  
 
“That is what worries me. A beautiful woman in the core of New Orleans, and alone.”  
 
Dale thought about what Manuel just said.  
 
“Look, if Nadia does not contact you or me by the end of the day. I’m on the next flight out of here.”  
 
“I will hold you to that.”  
 
“You do that, because you will be footing my traveling expenses.”  
 
“Fair enough. If she contacts you, transfer the call to my office.”  
 
“I will.”  
 
“Now get out of my office and find me a story.”  
 
Dale stood and walked to the door. He opened it, walked out, and pulled the door close.  
 
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA  
 
“Can I remove this blindfold? It’s starting to give me a headache.”  
 
“Once we arrive at our destination, it will come off.”  
 
Jonathon looked down at Nadia’s legs. He scooted closer and rubbed his palm up one of her thighs.  
 
“Please do not touch me. I have done nothing but cooperated with you.”  
 
“Maybe that’s the point.”  
 
“Would you rather I hurl some unsettling language in your direction.”  
 
Nadia realized the man’s limousine must have stopped at a railroad crossing. The sound of an approaching train suspended his roaming hand.  
 
She wondered what the hell was going on, and who was this Ragan person? Could she be the same woman who her stalker mistook her for?  
 
'My step-brother advised me you can be a handful at times. According to him, you like to play games.'  
 
Oh my God. Could the man that stalked her for a year be somehow related to this man she thought?
 
Nadia felt the vehicle’s tires finally cross the railroad tracks.  
 
Jonathon looked down at the woman’s breasts. His step-brother was blessed to suck on those, and if the games he bragged about, she likes to play. Then she would not see daylight until tomorrow.  
 
Jonathon removed his cell phone from off the mini-bar-top. He pressed in ten numbers and placed the cell phone up to his ear.  
 
AUGUSTA POINT ESTATE  
Baton Rouge, Louisiana  
 
PJ felt his cell phone vibrating. He removed it from off his hip clip, flipped it open, and placed it up to his ear.  
 
“Yeah?”  
 
“PJ, I need you to call Police Chief Hansin from the New Orleans Police Department, and advise him Miss. Nadia Whitlow, is covering an assignment related to her investigation, and she has rescheduled the interview for tomorrow at the same time. Then get one of my dancers at the Flamingo Club to call the Las Vegas Times Newspaper, and leave a message with someone that Miss. Nadia Whitlow called, and she will call her editor tomorrow. Make sure you tell whoever takes this assignment, not to speak to the editor directly.”  
 
“Okay boss.”  
 
PJ disconnected the call and pressed in ten numbers.  
 
Jonathon replaced his cell phone back on the mini-bar-top.  
 
“I see you’ve covered your tracks very well.”  
 
“I’m a wealthy businessman, and in my line of business. You learn to leave no stone unturned.”  
 
“Illegal distributing of drugs, hardly constitutes a business enterprise.”  
 
Jonathon smiled.  
 
“For some it may pay the bills, for others, such as myself, it’s not an inviting option, neither is it warranted.”  
 
“When you find out I’m not this woman. Your plan is to let me go, correct.”  
 
“It all depends.”  
 
“On what?”  
 
“Things, which you have no control over.”  
 
Nadia crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.  
 
MACDONALD HIGHLANDS  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
 
Ragan relaxed in a chair on her patio. She felt blessed this morning when she saw a taxicab pull into her neighbor’s driveway, and her neighbor walk out carrying a suitcase, and an overnight traveling bag slung over her shoulder. Ragan stood and pulled her robe together. She opened the door, walked into her home, and closed the door.  
 
LAS VEGAS TIMES NEWSPAPER  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
 
Dale hung up the telephone. He scratched his head in confusion. Why would someone call and leave a message on his voicemail about Nadia? Dale stood and walked to Manuel’s office. He knocked on the glassed door.  
 
Manuel looked up.  
 
“Come in,” Manuel hollered out.  
 
Dale opened Manuel’s door and peeped his head inside.  
 
“Mr. Addison, I have word that Nadia postponed her interview until tomorrow. She was tired, something like that.”  
 
“You’ve talked to Nadia?”  
 
“No, a woman called and said Nadia lost her cell phone. She stated Nadia asked her to call you while she go and lie down.”  
 
Manuel looked down at his watch.  
 
“Did the woman leave a telephone number in case we need to get in contact with Nadia?”  
 
“She said Nadia stated, and I quote, “she is going sightseeing later on, and she will call you sometime tomorrow,” unquote.”  
 
“I guess I will have to wait for that call. Now get out of here and find me a story.”  
 
“Yes sir.”  
 
Dale pulled Manuel’s office door close.  
 
 
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