August and Onika sat alone in the control booth at Savage Records. They listened to the playback of a song they'd recorded several days earlier, and August jotted notes down as the track played.
"I think that part needs work," Onika suggested. "Too much reverb, I think."
Nodding, he backed the tape up and listened to the segment again. "Yeah, I think you're right," he said, then looked at her with a smile. "How do you know so much about all this technical stuff? I thought that was my job."
"I like to stay informed," she said with a smile.
August couldn't take his eyes off her. "You're amazing," he said, his eyelids growing heavy as he felt butterflies trip through his stomach.
"Stop it!" she joked, hitting him and turning away bashfully.
"No, I mean it," August said. "I've never met anyone like you."
Onika's gaze met with his and her smile faded. She hated herself for thinking it, but she was falling for him fast. Every minute they spent together was a joy.
Suddenly she felt like a hypocrite for swearing to Sevyn last night that there was nothing going on between them. Truthfully there wasn't. So what if they had feelings for each other? That was normal for people who worked so closely together, right? Sure, August was funny, smart and devastatingly handsome, but that didn't mean she would act on her feelings. They had a professional relationship and that was all. "You're pretty cool yourself," she finally said to him, then looked away nervously.
August turned back to the mixing board and laughed. "I'm sorry."
"No, you don't have anything to be sorry about," she replied.
"No, I mean I'm sorry for this..." he began, then leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. At first he felt her pull away, but something must have eased her mind because a second later she was returning the kiss.
He put his hands on her waist and savored the sweet taste of her lips. It felt so right that he didn't want to stop. To his surprise, the guilt that he expected to feel wasn't there. He didn't think about Sevyn at all. His full attention was on Onika and her soft kisses.
Meanwhile, Chris and Robyn started down the staircase at the Carter mansion, their tennis rackets in hand as they prepared to leave for the Valley Beach Club. "You're going to kill me out there," he said and gave her a playful nudge. "August just kicked my ass at basketball this morning. I'm going to be worn out by the end of the day."
Robyn laughed and kissed him lightly. "Don't get too worn out," she said seductively. "You'll need some energy for tonight."
A grin broke out across his face and he chased her the rest of the way down the stairs just as the doorbell rang. Leilani appeared from another room and ambled over to answer the door.
A police officer and a plain clothed detective entered the foyer and showed Leilani their badges. "Excuse us, Ma'am, is there a Julian Thompson residing at this address? He might also be using the alias Chris Brown."
Chris and Robyn both snapped to attention, their eyes riveted to the police officers standing in the foyer. "I'm Chris Brown," he said with a frown. His heart began beating wildly and he could feel Robyn's intense green eyes burning into him. This definitely didn't look good for him.
The detective removed a pair of handcuffs and took Chris by the arm. "Mr. Brown, we're placing you under arrest for the murder of Shad Moss," he said, twisting his arms behind his back and latching the cuffs around his wrists.
Chris rolled his eyes, knowing immediately that Karrueche's name was written all over this. She said she would call the police and tell them where to find him, and she followed through with her promise. He looked at Robyn who stood perplexed at the sight of her husband being arrested for murder.
Sean sat in the back of his jet on the way to the Dominican Republic. He tapped his foot nervously on the floor and repeatedly looked at his watch. He didn't think he'd be able to keep his sanity for much longer. Glancing out the window, he saw the welcome sight of land in the not far off distance. Hitting the call button on the PA system, he called to the cockpit and spoke to the pilot. "Jake, how much longer?"
A few seconds later, the pilot's crackling voice sounded over the intercom. "We're coming up on the island now, Mr. Carter," he said. "I'm going to start our landing now."
Sighing with relief, Sean leaned back in his seat and tried thumbing through a magazine to keep his mind off of Trey. The attempt was futile, as his mind continuously raced in a hundred different directions. Questions nagged at him relentlessly. What were Beyonce and Trey doing on the island together? Were they having an affair? And what led to the explosion that took his nephew's life?
A violent bump in the cabin caused him to jolt back to reality. He looked out the window and wondered what was going on. They must have hit some turbulence. But from the looks of things, it was a relatively calm day.
Shrugging it off, Sean laid his head back and tried to focus on the task that lied ahead of him. Seeing Beyonce after the way he treated her several days ago was going to be difficult. Her state of mind was a mystery. He didn't know what to expect. All he wanted was to get her back home with him so they could start over again. He loved her more than anything. He would do anything to get her back.
Another violent jolt caused him to sit up with a start. Within seconds the small jet was rocking back and forth with such intensity that he felt his stomach doing flips. A loud explosion in the back of the jet sent alarms off in his head and he quickly called up to the cockpit.
"Jake! What's going on up there?" he asked in a panic.
The speaker popped and sparked as the pilot's voice came out in broken syllables. He could barely make out what Jake was saying.
"....engine blew....." said the pilot, yelling over the sound of the thundering noise that erupted from the craft. "....tail breaking apart.....malfunction....hold on."
The severity of the problem sunk in and Sean quickly fastened his seat belt. He couldn't make out what the pilot was saying but it didn't sound good. He felt the plane spiraling downward, aimlessly and out of control. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the worst. They were going down and would surely wind up in a fiery ball of twisted metal.
Thoughts of Beyonce flashed through his mind. He feared the finality of it. He would never have the chance to make it up to her. To make her his wife again and live the life that they'd dreamed about...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Beyonce was standing on the terrace at her hotel room in Santo Domingo, staring out at the blue ocean in a daze. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she thought about the mess her life had become. Just a few weeks ago she was so blissfully happy at the prospect of being married to Sean for the rest of her life. Then Pharrell showed up and put a stop to that. In a weak moment she ran to Trey and they discovered the love that they'd been denying for so long. Then tragedy struck and she lost him forever.
The traumatic turn of events was enough to send her into a deep depression. She should have left the island days ago but she couldn't bring herself to. She couldn't face anyone back home. What was more, she couldn't leave because it would mean she had accepted that Trey was gone forever. She wasn't prepared to do that. She couldn't leave him behind.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Meanwhile, the jet quickly descended toward the island, rocking back and forth as the pilot tried desperately to level it out. He had to find a way to bring the jet down as safely as he could, but it seemed like an impossible task. They were going way too fast and he struggled to bring the nose up.
In the rear, Sean gripped the sides of his seat and prayed for a miracle. He looked out the window and a saw the tops of palms trees. He closed his eyes and seconds later he felt the jet hitting the trees, snapping them like toothpicks as it barreled through the vast jungle.
