Healing Her Heart Read online

  Healing Her Heart © 2019 Kimberly Renee Smith

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or transmitted in any capacity without written permission by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This is a work of fiction, Names characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual persons living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This adult contemporary romance is recommended for readers 18+ due to mature content.

  February 2019 Edition

  Prologue

  As Denise came to consciousness, someone in front of her said, “She’s waking up.” The voice was deep and the person speaking sounded strange and garbled to Denise. Opening her eyes, she tried to lift her head. It felt as if it were expanding slowly and steadily and there was a deep bass drum pounding in her ears. The pain was excruciating.

  Someone had hit her in the head as she was getting into her car after leaving work. Whoever had hit her, had caught her by surprise. She hadn’t seen anyone in the employee parking area. They must have been hiding behind another car or something. She had her hand in her bag feeling around for her keys when she heard a noise behind her. Before she could turn to see what had made the sound, she was struck in the back of the head, and everything went dark.

  Now, she was sitting in a chair, hands tied behind her back, trapping her against the chair. Her feet were tied down too. Denise brought her head up so that she could see past the curtain of hair blocking her view. Her eyes squeezed into thin slits against the bright light shining in her face. She swung her head from side to side trying to see where she was.

  A man was standing in front of her, behind the light overhead. He was in the shadows. She tilted her head back, squinting her eyes, trying to see his face. He stepped forward a bit, allowing Denise to look at him openly. It was one of the men that had been following Felicia. Someone moved from behind him. It was the other man, the guy with the glasses and bald head. He could see the recognition in her eyes. “Well now, I think she remembers us Tony.”

  She had seen their faces, and now she had a name. That meant they had no intention of letting her live. “What do you want with me?” Denise asked trying to focus and clear her vision. They must have hit her pretty hard. She glanced around trying to figure out where she was, and to see what she might be able to use as a weapon. She didn’t see anything but a thick layer of dirt on the wooden floor and a folding table. Denise guessed that she was in some abandoned building.

  There was a door behind the bald man. If she could get her hands and legs free, she might be able to use the chair as a weapon and incapacitate the men long enough to get outside and get away. She realized they hadn’t covered her mouth with a gag or tape, which probably meant that there weren’t people nearby that they would have to worry about hearing her if she screamed.

  “We want you to tell us where your friend is.”

  Denise knew that they were talking about Felicia and she didn’t say anything. The guy closest to her, the one the bald man called Tony, came closer to her. He grabbed her by the hair and jerked her head back, looking into her eyes. “You know where she is don’t you?” Denise still didn’t say anything. Tony smiled down at her before he let her head go.

  Denise felt the ring on his left-hand slice her cheek as he backhanded her. Denise’s head lolled to one side. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know!” Denise thundered raising her head. Tony punched her this time using his other hand. It didn’t matter what he did to her. She would never tell him. He continued to punch and slap her until his partner stopped him.

  “Enough.” The bald man said as he came over to her. Using a handkerchief from his pocket, he put his hand under her chin and lifted Denise’s head. Denise could feel the blood running out of her nose, and she tasted it in her mouth. “Tony is a bit anxious about finding your friend. He doesn’t understand the bonds of friendship. Probably because he’s never had one himself.”

  “Fuck you Ford,” Tony said from behind him with a chuckle.

  “I know you want to protect your friend, but she has something that I want. It doesn’t belong to her, and I want it back. All I want you to do is to ask her to bring it to me. Can you do that for me?”

  Denise was breathing hard, her face hurt, and she was hanging on to consciousness by a thread, but she’d never do what they wanted. Denise looked him in the eye, “Obviously you don’t have any friends either. I agree with Tony, fuck you,” Denise said with venom as she fought for breath. Ford let her head go and punched her so hard the chair tipped over.

  “Give me her phone and sit her up,” Ford said moving away from her towards the table.

  Her chair was set upright. There was another person there. She couldn’t see who had carried out the man’s order. Ford spoke as he wiped his hand with the handkerchief, “You were right. She’s got an attitude and a big mouth.” He was talking to the person behind her. She watched as Ford took her purse and dumped its contents onto the table. He fished through the items, grabbing her phone, throwing the purse down to the floor. “We’ll see what kind of friend Felicia is. Somehow, I bet she will do what I ask.”

  Ford used Denise’s phone to dial the programmed number for Felicia. Denise listened as the man spoke into the phone. They didn’t know who she really was. They hadn’t found out that her real name was Denise Samuels, that Keisha Daniels didn’t exist. “Keisha’s tied up at the moment. You have something that I want. If you want to save your friend’s life, you will do what I tell you.”

  Felicia said something to him, and he responded, “Right here.” He had moved the phone away from his mouth coming towards her. “Say hello to your friend, Keisha.” Denise bit his hand as he held the phone close to her mouth. He punched her again, “Fucking bitch. Your gonna pay for that.” Before Denise could recover from the sting of his fist in her face, she felt a sharp pain in her thigh. She screamed, looking down to see blood filling the cut he’d made.

  “Shut the fuck up,” he said, then he was back on the phone, “Your friend’s a fighter. I like that, but make no mistake, I will kill her. You’ve got one hour to bring me the drive, or I’ll spend some time marking up that pretty face of hers before I cut her throat. Oh, and Felicia, when I’m done with Keisha, I’ll kill everyone who means anything to you, including your kids.” He gave her the address of the house they were using. “One hour. Come alone.” He ended the call.

  Denise tried to calm herself as she watched the blood seeping from the wound on her leg. It wasn’t deep, but she needed to stop the blood loss. Denise had to find a way out of this chair and this house. Denise felt light-headed, and she knew that she was fading into unconsciousness. She hoped that Felicia would be too smart to come for her, but she knew that her friend would do what she could to save her life.

  Tyrone listened as Ford threatened to kill his children. Tyrone pulled his Glock from his waistband and fired two shots, hitting both men in the chest. He moved around Keisha and fired another round into each of their heads. Tyrone replaced his gun in his waistband. He turned and checked Keisha, she had been hit in the face several times, and her leg was bleeding where Ford had cut her with a switchblade to make her scream for Felicia. She was unconscious, but she was alive. He looked at the cut on her leg. The bleeding had slowed, and she would be alright when Felicia arrived, Tyrone thought, moving to Tony and pulled the contents of his pockets out. He found what he wanted. Tyrone grabbed the keys to the car outside and left.

  **

  “Keisha, Keisha. Wake up girl.” Denise grunted. Felicia lifted her head. “
Come on girl wake up. Talk to me.”

  “You shouldn’t have come,” Denise mumbled. Felicia threw her arms around her, crying from happiness. Denise tried to open her eyes, but she couldn’t. They both jumped as the door was kicked open.

  Felicia turned to the door to find several men wearing FBI vests coming into the room. She breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay,” she said to her friend. I didn’t come alone.” Denise tried to stay awake, but she closed her eyes knowing that she and Felicia were going to be okay.

  The next time she opened her eyes, Denise was in a hospital bed with a doctor standing over her. “Ms. Daniels, I’m Dr. Reynolds.” Denise tried to listen as the doctor went over her injuries, but she wanted to make sure that Felicia was okay. “My friend, Felicia, I need to see her.”

  **

  Felicia touched Keisha’s hand, leaning down over her. “Hey.”

  Denise opened her eyes, “Hey. You okay? What happened?” Denise was pretty sure that the handsome white guy attached to Felicia’s side was Perry.

  Felicia quickly gave her an abridged version of what happened when she got to the house. “I need to talk to you alone,” Denise said softly.

  “I’ll be right outside,” Perry said leaving the two of them alone.

  Once Perry was gone Felicia asked, “What’s up?”

  “You said there were two bodies. What happened to the third guy?”

  “Third guy?” Felicia hadn’t seen anyone else there. “It was just the two of them.”

  “There was another guy there. I never saw him, but…” Denise hesitated. “I think it was Tyrone.”

  Felicia shook her head. “No. It couldn’t be. They beat you up pretty bad. I think you must have just passed out or something and it was a dream.”

  Keisha squeezed her hand, “I could smell his cologne, and one of them said that he was right that I had an attitude.”

  “Did you hear his voice?”

  Denise sighed, “No,” then, she gripped Felicia’s hand and added, “But I know I’m right.” Her voice sounded strained.

  Felicia could see that Keisha was becoming agitated and she didn’t want to upset her. “Okay. We’ll talk about it later. Right now, you need to rest.”

  “Why would he be there?”

  Felicia didn’t know, but if he had been there, he was the one to kill both those men. He’d saved Keisha and her too.

  “We’re going to move her upstairs now. You can come back tomorrow during visiting hours,” a male nurse said as he situated her I.V. and unlocked the wheels on the bed.

  Denise was asleep again before the orderly made it to the elevator.

  **

  When Denise opened her eyes the next morning, Clarence sat in the chair beside her bed, with his head back, mouth open, snoring loudly. The blanket he’d used had slipped down to his waist. It was apparent that he had been there all night.

  Denise needed to use the bathroom. She pushed the covers back and started to move her leg until the pain in her thigh caused her to groan. Clarence was on his feet instantly, “What are you doing?”

  Denise sighed. “I need to pee.”

  Clarence came around the bed. “Let me help you.” Denise winced as he helped her move her legs to hang off the edge of the bed. She threw her arm over his shoulder and let him support her weight as she stood, trying to keep the pressure off her injured leg.

  She was grateful for the hospital gown being open in the back as Clarence lowered her onto the toilet. He quickly left her, pulling the door to as he went. “I’ll be right out here when you’re ready.”

  It didn’t take Denise long to do her business. She tried to stand, leaning on the base of the sink. She shifted adjusting her weight to her good leg. The auto-flush mechanism on the toilet startled her as she started the water to wash her hands. She knew that Clarence was there waiting to help her back to the bed, but Denise was determined to get there on her own.

  The pain had startled her before, but now she knew what to expect. She took a step and realized that it wasn’t that bad. She could handle the pain. She pulled the door open, pushing Clarence’s hand away as he tried to help her. “I’m okay now.” She took her time limping back to the bed.

  Once Clarence was sure that Denise was settled in her bed, he spoke. “What happened?”

  Denise knew that he was referring to her FBI training. He wanted to know how they had been able to abduct her. “They got me from behind as I was getting in my car. It was late, and no one was around.” She hated the look on his face, the worry showing was evident as well as relief. “I’m okay.” She needed to get his mind off her injuries. “Tell me what happens now.”

  Denise sat and listened as her father told her about reuniting Beverly with her family and that after leaving Beverly with them, he’d gone to the FBI office and handed over the disk drive to a man he trusted. Denise could hear the sadness in his voice as he talked about Beverly. She knew that her father would never admit to it, but Clarence had fallen in love with her. How could he not? They lived in the same house for years. He would never act on those feelings because he knew that someday Beverly would be with her family again.

  Love sucked as far as Denise was concerned. She would never allow herself to fall in love with anyone. From what Denise had experienced throughout her life, it wasn’t worth the pain it caused. Beverly loved her husband and child, and yet she couldn’t be with them. Her father loved Beverly, and he couldn’t express it to her. Felicia loved Tyrone for a long time, and all he did was break her heart over and over. She also knew that she hadn’t been conceived in love. Her father had raped her mother. Love was a useless emotion in her book.

  “I have to tell Felicia who I am,” Denise said laying her head back against the pillow.

  Denise thought of the day she had met Felicia at Lincoln High School. Denise had enrolled as a transfer student from Colorado using the name Keisha Daniels. She made sure that she was in some of the same classes as Felicia. She never intended to get involved in her life, but Felicia approached her in the cafeteria at lunch.

  Denise had been sitting alone at a table in the back. Felicia put her tray down across from her and took a seat. “Hey new girl.”

  “Hey.”

  “I’m Felicia Howell. You’re in my math class.”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So, nothing. I know what it’s like to be the new kid. Thought you might like a friend.”

  Denise didn’t know what to say to that. She sat there for a minute staring at the food in front of her. She had always had a sack lunch packed by Beverly. At that moment, Denise felt terrible. She had grown up with homemade lunches made by Felicia’s mother while Felicia most likely ate school made food. “I’m Keisha.” It wasn’t long before the two of them were nearly inseparable.

  Her dad’s voice pulled her out of her memories, “It’ll be okay.”

  Denise hoped so. Though she had never intended it, she and Felicia had become good friends, and in some ways, they were family. She didn’t want to lose that. Felicia was one of the few people Denise had ever allowed to get close to her. She was afraid that the lies she had told over the last ten years would cause Felicia to hate her, to end their friendship.

  **

  Denise lay in the bed watching a channel that showed old shows from the eighties. Before her father had left her, the doctor came to visit and was going to let her go home the next day. Clarence had been happy to hear that. He insisted that she come back to his house in Fort Worth for a few days.

  Felicia had called an hour ago and told her that she was coming to visit her. Denise had been a bundle of nerves, praying that their conversation would go well. Felicia had sounded happy on the phone. She had been reunited with her mother and father, and her family was now safe.

  Felicia pushed the door to Denise’s room open. “Hey,” Denise said, when she saw Felicia coming in.

  Felicia hugged her friend, “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m good, but we need t
o talk.”

  Felicia pulled a chair closer to the bed. She took her friend’s hand. “Okay.”

  Denise took a deep breath and let it out. She was afraid of how Felicia was going to feel about her when she knew the truth. “I’m not who you think I am.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My name isn’t Keisha Daniels. It’s Denise Samuels. I’ve been working with my father, Clarence. I work for the FBI or I used to.”

  Felicia tilted her head to the side. “You mean the Clarence Samuels that my mother has lived with for the last twenty years?” She slipped her hand away from Denise’s. She was confused as a million things went through her mind.

  “Yes. I was just entering the field about the time you were in your senior year of high school. Your mother helped raise me.” This was the hard part. Would Felicia understand that Denise was just as much a victim of circumstance as Felicia had been? The look on Felicia’s face twisted her stomach into knots. “Clarence and Wanda adopted me just before he met Beverly. He relocated to keep her safe, and Wanda died shortly after we moved here.” Denise took another deep breath. “Your mother was concerned about you and wanted someone to keep an eye on you. The bureau wouldn’t authorize it, and we knew it. I convinced Clarence to let me do it. I felt like I owed Beverly that much. We were close in age, and It would make your mother feel better, make her feel closer to you.”

  Felicia folded her arms across her chest. Her heart hurt a little knowing that her mother had raised the woman that had become her best friend. It also hurt knowing that Denise had known that her mother was alive the entire time. “I don’t know what to say. I’m hurt even though I understand why you did it, why you lied to me all these years. It also hurts because you got the love and affection that I missed out on. You knew the entire time that my mother was alive, and you never told me. Jesus, we’ve been friends forever.”

  “I’m sorry,” Denise said pleading with Felicia. Denise’s heart hurt. She didn’t want to lose Felicia’s friendship.

  Felicia picked up her bag and went to the door, “I need a minute to wrap my head around this. Denise could do nothing as she watched Felicia wiping her eyes as she left the room.