TABOO TALES(erotica)

Cassandra watched Andre wobble across the hall and wondered how he’d been able to hit TJ so hard in his state. She looked back at the coffee table in the asshole’s apartment and stared nervously at the gun in plain sight, a box of bullets next to it. There were stacks of bills and a few bags of drugs as well. What an idiot.

She contemplated taking a few stacks of bills, but that would be a mistake. It probably didn’t belong to TJ, and she didn’t want any part of that mess if they came looking for it.

She checked, and the coast was clear. She made sure TJ’s foot would keep his door open, then crossed the hall and quickly made a call on her cell.

“911. Please state the nature of your emergency.”

“I think my neighbor across the hall was just mugged. There was some yelling, and I looked out my peephole, and there was someone with a gun in his hand pushing into the apartment. I screamed and ran away from my door and called you.”

“Your address?”

Cassandra gave her details and TJ’s apartment number.

She got Andre off the couch so she could open it up into a bed and put the sheets on it. She inspected his right hand, and his knuckles were red from punching TJ, but the arm and elbow were also scratched from the crash, so his knuckles blended in. She guided the barely lucid man back into his bed. No sooner was he stretched out than he was asleep once more.

Seven minutes after she called 911, two police officers were at TJ’s doors with guns drawn. With the door open and all that evidence visible from the doorway, it wasn’t long before the place was swarming with police. TJ was rushed out on a stretcher.

Cassandra answered the knock on her door and let two detectives in.

“Good day, Ms. Marin?” Cassandra nodded. “I’m Detective Parsons, and this is my partner, Detective Giovani. I understand you were the one who contacted 911.”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Parsons asked.

She nodded. “I’d just returned from the laundry room. I put the sheets back on my brother’s bed in the living room and walked past the front door when I heard a loud yell. I looked through the peephole and saw someone pushing his way through the door. I saw a gun, and I screamed. Then I called.”

The two men leaned around the corner to see Andre asleep.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“This is your brother? Is he okay?” Giovani asked.

Cassandra walked into the room, followed by the detectives. She gently pulled the sheet down and caught the men wincing at the sight of the bruises she exposed. “He was hit by a car two days ago. Nothing was broken, but he’s in a lot of pain. I was given powerful painkillers for him. They put him out for hours.” She pulled the sheet back up.

“So, he didn’t see or hear anything?” Giovani asked.

“I had to get him off the sofa to put the sheets on it, but I doubt he’ll remember that. They’re really potent drugs. Maybe a little too strong,” she said with a frown.

The two men nodded as they were used to hearing that. “Try to get him off the pills as soon as you can,” Parsons said, and she nodded and walked them back to the front door.

The man gestured to the door. “Can you give me a description of the man who accosted your neighbor?”

“All I saw was a dark jacket, dark pants, and what I thought was a gun in his hand, which made me scream. I think he was wearing dark gloves, too. If you look yourself, you’ll see the peephole isn’t very clear.”

Parsons bent down and looked across the hall. He saw it was true. The visibility wasn’t good.

“Your scream probably frightened off the assailant and may have saved your neighbor’s life,” Parsons replied. He frowned when Cassandra didn’t react with a smile. “How well do you know him?”

“Well enough to keep my distance. I regret to say I went on one date with him a long time ago. He turned out to be a sleaze bag back then, and he never improved. If anything, he just got worse. He wasn’t one to accept a no if you get my meaning.” Cassandra said, holding Parson’s eye.

The man nodded. He put his notepad away and handed her a business card. “If you think of anything else or see that man around the building, please give me a call.” Cassandra nodded.

“I hope your brother gets better soon,” Giovani said.

“Thank you.”

The men left, and Cassandra locked up. She walked into the living room and dumped the laundry out onto the bottom corner of the sofa bed. She began folding the clothes and towels as she watched Andre’s sleeping face.

He’d come to her rescue and would have killed TJ if she hadn’t stopped him. That gave her tingles in places she shouldn’t tingle for a family member.

She put the sheets back on her bed and put their clothes away. As she loaded his stuff back into the dresser, she wondered if Andre ever did anything kinky with her underwear when he did their laundry.

She snorted and shook her head as she knew the answer to that.

She was the freak in this relationship.

-=-

TJ woke in a strange place, and his head hurt so much.

He heard a beeping sound and tried to turn his face toward it, but that was too much effort.

Someone came into the room, and he looked at the nurse who was looking back at him. He… recognized her. He was at work? What was he doing in bed? He tried to lift his hand and heard a metallic rattle. He knew that sound. He was cuffed?

The nurse left, and moments later, the doctor came in. “Mr. Johnson. I didn’t expect to see you as a patient in this hospital.” He flashed a light in TJ’s eyes, then looked at the chart. “You have a nasty concussion, so thinking may be painful for the next little while. That said, can you tell me what the last thing you remember is?”

Doctor Pembrook was a decent enough man, so TJ did his best to answer the man’s question. “Uh… going home Friday night. I-I can’t remember shit after that.” He liked to get high on the weekends, so that didn’t help. He rattled his wrist. “Why am I cuffed to the bed?”

“I’ll let the detectives explain that,” the doctor said as he left.

Two men in suits arrived, and he could see cop written all over them.

“Hey! Why am I locked to the bed?” TJ said, going on the offensive.

“Mr. Jackson, you were the victim of an attack. Your neighbor, Ms. Marin, witnessed someone attempting to enter your apartment with a gun in his hand, and she screamed. This seems to have scared your attacker away. The police arrived to find you unconscious. They also found a large quantity of money, various illegal drugs, an unregistered handgun, and ammunition. You’re going to be charged for trafficking, and we’re running ballistics on your weapon. It had your fingerprints all over it.”

TJ looked at the men’s smiles, and a bead of sweat popped up on his forehead. “Wait, something isn’t right.” His recent memories were lost in a mist, but he recalled the time Cassandra’s brother threatened him. “I don’t know about being attacked… I can’t fucking remember anything, but that bitch wouldn’t have called for help for me.”