“Come on,” he whispered.
“Shouldn’t you call the police?” she whispered back.
“I already have. But there’s no telling how long it might take them to get here. They know the kind of business I’m in and probably wouldn’t be too sad if I got my head blown off.”
“Mercy!”
He opened the door that led to the basement. “One of my homies will alert me when the danger has passed.”
“I have two kids at home who need me,” she wailed, seemingly on the verge of a panic attack. “I would never have come here with you tonight had I known you were a gangsta. I assumed you were some high-class businessman.”
“Please keep your voice down if you want us to get out of here alive,” he warned, not wanting to hear anything she had to say.
She glared at him, but did lower her voice. “I should have known you were a liar when you claimed your name was Cobra.No sane mother would name her kid that. When this is over, I hope I never see you again.”
He had news for her: hewouldbe seeing her again. In court. He would make sure they locked her up and threw away the key. Instead of responding to her continued tirade, he remained quiet and kept his cool.
A short while later, his Apple watch dinged.
“What was that?” she asked, standing close behind him.
“An alert to let me know the police have arrived.”
“Praise Him!” Allison said, almost dropping to her knees in thanks. “The sooner I leave here, the better.”
Cobra opened the basement door, and she swept past him. Just then, he heard his name being called from the living room. Recognizing the voice, he said, “In the kitchen, Straw.”
The kitchen lights came on and three police officers entered. Liam Strawberry had been given the nickname Straw in elementary school, a shortened version of his last name and a reference to his physique—he was tall and lanky. He’d played basketball in college until a knee injury had ended what everyone had assumed would be a promising NBA career.
“I was on the other side of town, but I got here as fast as I could. Tombstone told me what was going down, and some of my men are collecting the evidence. By the way, Tomb sent over a copy of the video.”
“Good.”
“Look, officer,” Allison was saying, “I need to call an Uber for a ride back to my car. I had no idea things would end up like this when I left Swanky’s with this guy.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. And I’m not an officer. I’m the sheriff. Sheriff Strawberry.”
She nodded. “Sheriff Strawberry, it’s nice to meet you. But as I said, I need to go. I’m not the type of woman to associate with gangstas.”
“Unfortunately, miss, the only place you’re going is down to the station. You’re under arrest.”
Shock crossed her face when two officers approached her with handcuffs. “Under arrest?”
“Yes,” Sheriff Strawberry said, not smiling. “And I’ll need these for evidence,” he said, removing her bracelet and the hairpin and slipping them into clear evidence bags.
“But I’m not the gangsta. He is,” she said, pointing at Cobra. “And you have no right to take my belongings.”
“Ma’am, you are under arrest for sexual assault.”
“Sexual assault!” she exclaimed, nearly screaming the words at the top of her voice.
“Yes, tampering with a condom is a crime. As is spiking someone’s wine.”
A flash of guilt on her face was quickly replaced with fury. “Lies! You can’t prove a thing.”
Sheriff Strawberry chuckled. “Unfortunately, we can. You were caught on a video camera in his bedroom. And it can be backed up by evidence—the tampered condom packets, the drink, as well as this bracelet, which has a secret compartment. It shouldn’t be too hard to prove that the holes in the condoms were made by that hairpin.” He nodded to the two officers. “Put her in the squad car.”
She turned and, with her hands cuffed, she struck out at Cobra, hitting his knee and thigh with her feet, while spewing obscenities. It was apparent she’d been aiming for his balls. The two officers finally got her under control.
