Author’s note: Does that title make sense?

I hope so.

Okay, here’s the free preview of the beginning of the book as promised.

A simple plot has turned very complicated but it’s been a wild ride inside my head.

Chapter One

This wasn’t supposed to happen to a good person, right?

Frantically she looked around for a safe place to hide. A dumpster. Down an alley.

Would she have enough strength to climb in there?

Her heart felt like it was going to beat right up her throat and out of her mouth.

She could hear their footsteps right behind her. Thank the Lord for Detroit’s bad lighting system just this time as she ducked down the alley and used the last bit of strength to practically leap into the dumpster.

The footsteps stopped abruptly. “Do you see her?” One of them asked out of breath. “Damn for a thick bitch, she was fast.” He could barely catch his breath. “Shit, this pussy better be good if we gave up a stupid hit over it.”

She covered her mouth and tried hard to concentrate to slow her breathing. Damn her for missingthat last bus. Damn her for trying to live a good and honest life when she could have been rolling in the dough, getting a brand new car and off the streeets this late at night.

“FUCK! I don’t see that bitch anywhere, man,” another said disappointedly. “Damn, that looked like some sweet pussy.”

“We got your coat, bitch!” the third one yelled cackling.

With her free hand, she clutched her small bag she was able to save.

Yes, Jordyn Cytee was a size fourteen and thick, but people thought her legs were thick with fat when in truth that was all muscle. She didn’t care that she didn’t look like a supermodel. She was a voluptuous beautiful black woman with coke bottle hips and a backside that turned heads when she used it to her advantage.

Tonight she was not trying to use her body to get her way. These men had been on the streets a couple blocks away from her apartment up to no good and when they saw her, their plans seemed to change to the ultimate no good.

Soon as they had turned towards her, Jordyn knew her body was in trouble and she wouldn’t be able to talk or even con her way out of three big guys up to no good looking at her like she was top shelf steak and they hadn’t eaten for days.

With no car and always walking, she learned a long time ago to put her purse inside of her coat. She had gladly sacrificed her coat for a getaway that most likely saved her life and prevented her from being raped.

All the times she had thought this was going to happen could have never prepared her for the reality of the event happening.

These men meant to hurt her, but Jordyn was determined not to become a victim. She had survived too long on her own for her body to become ravaged and pained by this men.

“Damn!” the second said sounding even more disappointed. “My dicks all hard and shit.” There was some ripping sound getting closer to her. “Now I really want to kill a nigga. You still don’t remember where the hit was suppose to take place at? Can’t we call the bitch that set this up?”

The first one cursed. “We been walking around so fucking long my phones dead. Fuck!”

It sounded like they were right by the dumpster. She prayed the darkness was her friend.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be others,” the first one assured him. “Let’s go see can we find that nice Cadi. The instructions the rich chic left said there was a bakery around here somewhere.”

“Man, how could you lose the address?” the third one scolded. “We look like fools walking around as cold as it is. Let’s just get our asses home before some cop rolls up on us looking to truck our asses in just because.”

There was more ripping noises and also cackling. Suddenly the lid of the dumpster came open and her coat was flung on top of her face.

Her heart felt as if it had completely stopped.

“Bitch!” the third one sneered. “Even if she come this way looking for her shit, it’s useless.”

The lid slammed closed and then Jordyn listened to them run away. She didn’t move a muscle for several more minutes. The sound of rustling underneath her made her hurry up and get out of the dumpster.

A rat bite was also no joke.

With her coat clutched in her hand, she climbed out and just stood beside the smelly dumpster for several more minutes.

The man had taken a knife to her coat and shredded her cheap feather down.

Shivering as the cold eastern December wind whipped around her body, she still did her best to put the coat on and start down the street again. She had to walk an extra half hour to get home going all the way around some darkened streets and by this time she was nearing her apartment again it was going on five in the morning.

Exhausted, she kept her mind focused on the present instead of the fact she was living from paycheck to paycheck vacuuming floors during the afternoon and washing dishes during the day.

The two incomes barely covered her rent and utilities.She just needed a break. A way to make more money without working so hard.

There was always the old way… the way she had run away from…. The family way.

Jordyn pushed the thought away immediately. Her legs were on auto. All they knew was how to get home.

Afraid to stop and never get home, Jordyn pushed the cold and pain away, and was a block away from home when she saw a brand new Cadillac pass her. She remembered how her uncle could steal any car he put his mind too and her cousin could sell any car her uncle could bring in.

As a child, she would accompany her uncle, being his best lookout. No one would suspect a man and a little girl would steal their car.  Uncle Clayton stole thousands of cars a year.

Jordyn never realized this was a bad thing until her mother was forced to put her in public school. Jordyn had been picked up for the tenth time shoplifting when she was fifteen. When the judge found out Jordyn had never attended school, he ordered Bessie Cytee to put Jordyn in school or go to jail.

Bessie reluctantly did so and Jordyn saw a whole new world.

These kids had more problems than she had, but unlike them, she didn’t know wrong from right. She had always been taught wrong.

As one of the best forges in her family, Jordyn got through school easily copying teacher’s signatures on skip passes and finding passwords to computers all over the building. Jordyn read the books and could memorize everything in them, but doing the work was tedious, so she was never at school, but none of the teachers ever knocked her excuses she often brought in from other administrators.

She believed like her family believe, good people were fools and she made fools out of her whole school as she graduated with a B average. Unfortunately, her degree was snatched away from her when the school realized a note she had forged from one teacher had been falsified, when that teacher had committed suicide during the lunch hour and Jordyn had forged the note for a period after lunch.

The police had found the forge and questioned Jordyn two days after graduating about how did this note get written when the teacher was already dead.

Since Jordyn had been skipping that whole afternoon, she hadn’t heard about the teacher’s suicide until she had turned the note in the following day.

Instead of going to jail for possible murder, Jordyn confessed she forged the note. All her other notes  were called into question and the school felt a moral punishment had to be doled out, which was to snatch her degree with the promise to return it if she went to summer school faithfully and passed the GED.

Jordyn felt bad about being caught, but the way people looked at her shamefully was even worse and she called her whole life into question.

Knowing a teacher’s suicide had happened, even though it had nothing to do with Jordyn skipping drove guilt into Jordyn.

Lies, deceit and dishonesty was all she knew.

She used the whole summer to attend school and then passed the GED with a perfect grade. Of course, she was accused of cheating, but the school kept their promise and gave her a GED instead of the degree. She couldn’t even get the college credit other students had received, plus the scholarship she had gotten was yanked from her as well.

The whole summer she evaluated her life and decided at the age of eighteen, the lying, deceiving and dishonesty her whole life had been equated to having absolutely nothing in the end.

She never wanted this to happen and resolved to never ever steal, lie or be dishonest ever again.

That promise was made almost thirteen years ago and since then she had been clawing at making a life for herself on the mean streets of Detroit.

****

Getting close to home, relief filled her and she clutched what was left of the coat around her. The coat was useless at preventing cold, but it gave her a false sense of security that she had survived an ordeal.

She could see the Cadillac that had passed her parked in front of the bakery where she lived above. It was a one room efficiency that she could afford with not much on amenities, but it was hers and she didn’t steal anything to get it.

There was a couple just getting out. The man was opening the door to the passenger side and the woman stood up out of the car, but snatched her hand out of his as if he had hurt her,

The man immediately apologized.

“Stop apologizing and just stop being so rough,” the woman snapped. She was white and rather tall for a female, but the man was black standing about six feet four. Both were well dressed.

Odd in this neighborhood and at this time of day.

It was almost instinctual for Jordyn to size them up and access their worth. Back in the day, she could easily pick the pockets of these two without thinking and knew in the back of her head she could get about four grand off of them, including the diamond studs the woman wore. She was the more flashier one, yet the man’s Rolex watch would get a nice price as well.

Jordyn was hesitant to cross the street and probably scare the life out of them if they saw her bedraggled appearance. Standing against a building across the street, she was able to see them even though her eyes were having a hard time adjusting being so cold and surprisingly with the wind whipping about, she could also hear them.

The woman shivered standing up out of the car. “Do we have to do this?” she asked.

“This is the only time we can see him and you promised I get to pick the cake,” the man said, getting a coat out of the back of the car. “This is the bakery my mother used for her wedding. I wanted to do something that reminded me of her. You need to put your coat on.”

She pushed away the coat. “No, Jackson! I was dead serious when I said I wouldn’t wear another coat until you got me a full length mink!”

“You’ll freeze, Meg!” he protested. “And it’ll be foolish to wear a mink in this type of neighborhood.”

The woman stomped her foot stubbornly. “But you ride around in a brand new Cadillac.” She snatched the coat from him and tossed it to the front of the car.

The man only glared at her angrily. “That’s a brand new coat that I just got for you.”

“It’s not mink,” she pouted.

The baker came outside and greeted them. The coat was instantly forgotten and the couple followed the baker inside.

Soon as they went in, Jordyn couldn’t believe her luck and ran over to pick up the coat to put it on dumping her shredded coat in its place.

Warmth hit her so hard she almost passed out in joy. She heard voices coming back at the door of the bakery and sprinted over to the darkened alley again.

“Why’d you leave your wallet and cellphone in the damn coat-“ The man was glowering, but stopped as he came outside to see the coat was gone and in its place was the shredded fabric of what used to be a red feather down.

The man cursed and looked around the area.

Jordyn backed up quietly thinking he could see her, but no streetlights saved her yet again. She was safe.

Reaching down into the coat, she felt the wallet and cell phone.

The woman’s?

Return it! The voice in her head ordered.

Her body wouldn’t move.

The big man moved and went back into the bakery. Jordyn sprinted across the street to the alley of the bakery where the entrance to the apartments were.

Hers was at the top and she didn’t stop until she was ensconced inside.

The man could have seen her? Would he chase her?

Or would it scuff his six hundred dollar shoes?

Leaning against the door, she pulled out the phone. It could be traced. She turned it off completely. With it being a newer model, there was no battery to remove.

Opening up the wallet, she gasped. At least seven hundred dollar bills.

How could the woman forget about the money?

At that moment Jordyn couldn’t remember the woman’s name, but right then, Jordyn felt the woman was a shallow fool to throw away such a nice coat. Opening up the closet door by her front door to look in the full length mirror, Jordyn gasped at her bedraggled appearance.

It was a good thing that guy didn’t see her.

What would it have mattered if he saw her?

He didn’t look like he was interested in a bbw.

Jordyn giggled to herself at the term she called herself.

Size fourteen was average for most women, but the stigma of her size in society was another matter. She was a cocoa warm shade of brown that most men found irresistible.

He wouldn’t think you were irresistible. He was attracted to another color.

Why in hells name did she care what he thought about?

Come on girl, he’s just a guy. Stop being silly.

Uncle Clayton wouldn’t have let any woman talk to him like that.

This guy had allowed this woman to be so abrasive. He was patient. The woman had called his touch harsh? Jordyn just saw he had a firm hand.

To each his own.

Uncle Clayton would have called the guy the pussy.

“What do you mean you can’t find it, Jackson?” the familiar voice of the woman shrilled outside on the street.

Jordyn quickly turned out her light and went over to the window, which faced the street. Right below was the Cadillac parked and looking sparkling brand new.

The couple was standing in front of the car looking down at the shredded red jacket as if it were going to turn back into the coat.

Squeezing the coat, she had lifted, protectively against her chest, Jordyn listened intensely to their conversation.

“What kind of question is that, Megan? When I came back out to get the coat after you realized your wallet and phone was in there, this was lying on the ground.”

“Impossible!” she stomped her foot curmudgeonly. “It was just a second, Jackson.”

This guy wasn’t a pussy, he was placating this woman. Why? Did he love her? Or was this just out of obligation?

Jordyn watched him tense up and then relaxed.

“A second is all it takes in this neighborhood. Now let’s just get back inside and finish choosing the cake for the wedding.”

Good lawd, he planned on marrying this woman?

Again the woman stumped her foot, “No, Jackson. I’m tired. You woke me up too early for a stupid cake. I want to go home now.”

Jackson was more aware of their surroundings and didn’t look comfortable. Yet, Megan seemed comfortable… too comfortable as if she had been over this way before or… she was expecting something.

Jordyn shook her head to get the suspicions out. She wasn’t casing the couple to get cash out of them. This whole thing was silly, but she couldn’t stop listening to their exchange or looking at Jackson. He was a very handsome black man.

“Fine, Megan, I’ll arrange for him to bring the samples to the office. Let’s just hurry and get in the car! This isn’t a safe neighborhood to just stand around and talk in.”

Megan looked a little disappointed, Jackson had not wanted to argue about what to do about the cake. One could clearly see it on her face, but then she brought up something else. “What about my credit cards?!” She shivered because it was cold, but making no attempt to get in the car.

He immediately took off his jacket and put it over the woman’s shoulders.

Jordyn smiled at his act of gentleman kindness. For some reason, his control and manners made him ten times more attractive than what he already was.

“Please Megan, let’s get in the car.”

“But my cards!” She stomped her foot again.

Jordyn realized the woman was stalling and every  once in a while was looking around.. for someone?

Her brain went back to the three men who had intentions of raping her… them? The guy had said, “Shit this pussy better be good if we gave up a stupid hit over it.” They’d also mentioned a Cadi and a rich chic.

Jackson was the hit?

And Megan had set it up?!

Her heart raced in fear. Jackson had no idea how unscrupulous this woman was?!

“What if I gave you one of my cards until yours is replaced,” Jackson cajoled.

Megan smiled and hugged him. “The black one?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Megan. Anything.”

She bounded to her door and he opened it for her. When he closed the door, he looked around and then suddenly up! Right to Jordyn’s window.

Jordyn didn’t move because she was one hundred percent positive he couldn’t see her, but those intense eyes of his… despite how dark it was outside, she could still see his thick built and the light from the bakery gave her the features of the left side of his face clearly. His eyes searched the darkness of her window as if he could… feel her looking at him? Impossible.

Her heart was racing and she was very aware of the arousal she was feeling for this man – physically and emotionally, there was something that made her want to connect to him. Know him. Be with him.

Megan opened the door. “I’m ready to go now, Jackson!” she snipped. “I’m cold.” She dropped his jacket on the ground and closed her door.

Dammit! That bitch had broken their connection, but that was alright. Jordyn had been thinking crazy thoughts.

She was no virgin, but never in her life had a man just affected her so strongly.

Have three guys around all her life serving as twenty four hour body guards kept a lot of other guys away. Especially having a brother named Kansas Cytee.

He was built like a sequoia and didn’t make any bones about breaking any guys bones if they hurt Jordyn.

Jordyn watched Jackson tighten and then relax before he picked up the jacket and went to get in the car. He briefly looked back up at the window as if he was going to see something but then gave it up.

She let the breath out she hadn’t realized she was holding when the car drove away. The coat was still clutched to her chest.

It was silly to even think this guy would even go for someone like her. Clearly she wasn’t his type and the money he looked like he sported wouldn’t come close to the $1.58 she had in her pocket, which, sadly, was all the money she had to her name.

Thirteen years ago, before she walked away from her family, things would have been different. She would have had a lot of money in her pocket – just not hers. Stealing had been second nature and at the time, there seemed nothing wrong about it.

Eventually the truth came and shattered her whole life and she swore never to go back to that life. Yet, why shouldn’t she use her powers and knowledge for her own good. At least until she got back on her feet and back on track. Living from paycheck and being “honest” was a gray line.

Now that she had lived in both worlds, she felt she could take what she knew and apply to her life… carefully.

Knowing the ways of stealing already, Jordyn filled up a glass of water and sat at the dining room table. It was more like a nook in the small apartment, but it served it’s purpose.

She put the phone in the glass of water, just in case the internal battery was still on and there was a security tracker on.

Next thing she had to do was get rid of the wallet. After putting on some latex gloves, Jordyn decided to wipe the wallet clean of any prints after emptying all the contents out on the table. With scissors, she cut up all the credit cards and the woman’s identification.

Megan Noel Jacobson was her name.

Wow, she had a very plain name to be such a complicated bitch.

While Jordyn was cleaning the wallet down, she discovered a secret compartment with a key inside. Immediately she knew what type of key it was. Her family had been in some really big cons and Jordyn knew a bank safety deposit box like the back of her hand.

Also in the compartment was small card with all the woman’s pins. There was a letter before each pin, but Jordyn could tell b was for the woman’s bank card and s was the safety deposit box. There was one for home and there was j next to some numbers.

Jackson, Jordyn assumed.

Looking through the pile of cards, she found a bank business card and knew this was possibly where the box was.

A yawn escaped her lips and she knew it was time to go to bed. Putting the wiped clean wallet and the shreds from the cards in a ziploc bag.

She tossed this immediately in the hallway garbage chute. The other items she had removed, including the card with the pen on it, she put in another ziploc bag and went over to her window. Pulling away a piece of wood, she placed the bag there so no one would trace anything to her.

It was late and she had had a long night.

Walking back to the table, she cursed seeing she had left the key out of the bag which was right next to the glass where the cell phone was soaking.

Too sleepy to try to think, she decided to handle everything in the morning and went to bed.

Taking a long shower, she even washed her shoulder length light brown hair. She braided the strands instead of straightening it out. In the morning, it would be dry and when she took the braids down, there would be this curly effect.

Amber-wine colored eyes stared back at her in the full length mirror and she rolled her eyes at the thoughts of “Jackson” admiring all of her. At five foot four and one hundred and sixty, she carried her full size very well and didn’t think there was nothing wrong with one inch of her.

She had choose to stay away from men until she got her life on track, but after eight years of nothing, maybe this was her body telling her it was time to get back out there.

But Jackson was not the one for her.

Skinny, white, blonde and obviously complicated was more his style.

There were other men out there. Other men that would appreciate a woman like her.

After she started her endeavor of getting what she wanted and her life back on track, she would definitely get a little play time in just for the hell of it. Being around all those “brothers and cousins,” she knew “tricks.” Might as well not let them go to waste.

But she couldn’t just forget about this Jackson guy.

Lying in bed, she closed her eyes, but all she could envision was Jackson standing there staring up at her and how she wished he had been there for her. Looking up and saying, “Come down please. I don’t want to live without you.”

Jordyn giggled to herself and forced herself to stop thinking about this Jackson. She was going to start a new life tomorrow. She was going to change everything and stop doing the things she used to do.

It was time for Jordyn to get hers!

 End of Chapter One… more to come

Want more? Full versions of Part one will be available soon on Amazon and Smashwords.

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