How Deep Is Your Love 3 Read online

  How Deep is your Love 3

  Jade Royal

  © 2018

  Published by Miss Candice Presents

  All rights reserved.

  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 events is purely coincidental.

  Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

  Other Works by

  Jade Royal

  Love is Worth the Sacrifice (Completed Series)

  Two Halves of a Broken Heart

  How Deep is Your Love (Completed Series)

  Acknowledgments

  I want to specially thank Shavozz Joseph for all her help and encouragement through this series. You are an amazing woman and I am so glad to have met you. Not only have you become a faithful reader. You have become my sister and my friend. I will continue to lay song lyrics on the subject line each time I send you an email. Just so you know it’s real. LOL

  XOXOXO

  Another special thanks to Adia Stribling for sticking with me for what seems like years!

  Jade

  Chapter One

  “Charm Bradley was arrested about an hour ago. I need to see her,” Denzel spoke rapidly to the officer at the front desk. The woman looked at him and searched her computer. Behind Denzel, Brianna and Jason were pacing. The moment Charm was whisked away, Denzel had called both of them. He was trying to remain calm, but he was beginning to lose patience. He just really needed to see her.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but she’s in interrogation. Then she’s going to be transported to the local jail center until she can see the judge.”

  “What?” Jason gasped. He began to tear up immediately. He walked away so no one would see him cry.

  “She was arrested suddenly and we know she didn’t commit this damn crime. I just really, really, need to see her,” Denzel begged. “How-how can I see her? For just a minute.” Thankfully, the officer was sympathetic.

  “I can’t promise you anything. But when she’s being transported, I can bring you to see her. It’ll only be for a minute though.”

  “Thank you so much,” Denzel sighed.

  “Is that your spouse?” She asked him. Denzel didn’t even know how to answer the question. No, she wasn’t his woman, but she damn sure felt like it.

  “It’s complicated,” Denzel admitted.

  “You ought to get her a lawyer,” The officer gave him the advice. Denzel nodded. “She might be a while, so your best bet is just to wait here.

  “Thanks.” Denzel walked away from the counter back to Brianna and Denzel.

  “She’s going to let me see Charm. But only when she’s being transported and for like a minute.”

  “That’s better than nothing,” Brianna breathed. Even she had tears in her eyes.

  “The officer told me she’s gonna need a lawyer.”

  “She doesn’t have one. And knowing she’s getting a divorce, she’s not going to use Terrell’s money to get one either. So that means she has to wait until she sees the judge to get a public defender.” Denzel rubbed his eyes. She shouldn’t be going through this.

  “Fuck,” Denzel shook his head.

  “Good thing is that it’s Sunday. She’ll be able to see the judge tomorrow,” Brianna said.

  “We need to tell Terrell,” Jason spoke up.

  “What for?” Denzel asked, defensively.

  “Be real, Denzel. If he can help then we need to let him help.” Denzel knew Jason was right, but Charm was his responsibility. He was the one that was supposed to be taking care of her. Terrell wasn’t. Denzel walked away from Jason and began to pace. He’d never had to search for a lawyer before, and he damn sure couldn’t afford one. Leaving her in the hands of a public defender was scary, but that was the only thing he could do.

  ********

  Charm was sweating as she sat in the interrogation room alone. Unlike before, this was no ordinary conversation. She’d been arrested. Just thinking about the fact that she was in a precinct ready to be interrogated brought tears to her eyes. She just wanted her innocence to be proven so she could go home with Denzel. This time she knew he couldn’t come bursting in here to save her. She was all on her own this time. The door to the small interrogation room opened. Charm sat bone straight, as that damn detective who had it out for her came into the room. He had a sly smile on his face, as if he knew the trap he’d set had worked.

  “I think we should make this as simple as possible,” Joe said, sitting down. He pushed a yellow writing pad towards her.

  “You tell me who you hired to kill your husband, what deal you made with him, and why you wanted your husband dead. I’ll tell the judge you played nice.” Charm just looked at him. She wasn’t writing anything down and she wasn’t going to admit guilt to something she didn’t do. If they were going to lock her up, then they’d need to find evidence and convict her.

  “Let me give you a piece of advice,” Joe said. “Just come clean. Give us what we need to go arrest your little boy toy. I know you don’t want to spend years in jail, while he’s out free. You don’t deserve that. So give him up. Tell me how Denzel is wrapped up in this and things will go smoother.” Charm sat back and crossed her arms. She stared at the man who was trying to act sympathetic, but he was nothing of the sort. No matter how nice he tried to appear, Charm knew what he wanted.

  “Nothing to say?” Joe asked. “Come on, Charm, I’m tryna help you out. Talk to me.” Smiling, Charm leaned forward as if she wanted to tell him a secret.

  “There is something I want to say,” She sighed. Joe suckered in and leaned into the table as well meeting her halfway.

  “Tell me. What is it?” The eagerness dripping off his voice was disgusting. And it made it easier for Charm to play him.

  “I want a lawyer,” she said, flatly. That concerned and sympathetic façade quickly vanished from his face. She straightened and crossed her arms again and said nothing.

  “You’re loss,” He said getting up. “Be prepared to spend the rest of your night in a damn cell.” Charm just stuck her chin out to show she wasn’t afraid. Joe shook his head and left the room. As soon as she was alone, Charm hung her head low. She knew the only thing she could have done in that moment was lawyer up. But that still didn’t change the fact that she was going to be spending a night in a cell.

  She waited alone in the interrogation room for what seemed like hours. When the door finally opened again, it was another officer.

  “One phone call,” he said to her. Charm jumped up ready to follow him. She’s forgotten all about the phone call. She didn’t have a lawyer to phone and even if she did the only person she wanted to talk to was Denzel.

  Denzel was pacing the precinct when his phone vibrated in his pocket. It had been over two hours since he arrived, and no matter how long it took, he wasn’t leaving until he got to see Charm.

  “Hello?” He answered the number even though he didn’t recognize it.

  “Denny!” Charm’s hushed voice gave him both relief and pain.

  “Oh, baby girl!”

  “Denzel, I don’t know what to do. I asked for a lawyer but I don’t have one. I think I’m gonna have to use the public defender. But I don’t care. I just wanna get out of here. They’re talking about me spending the night in jail!”

  “I know sweetie. I’m here at the precinct. They won’t let me see you though. Not until you’re being transported.” There was a long pause, before he heard her sniffling. He would never get over hearing her cry. It was literally, his ultimate weakness.

  “Sweetie,” he
said. She didn’t answer. “Charm,” he said, more fiercely.

  “Yes?” She whispered.

  “I know this is hard. No one, especially someone like you, deserves to be in this situation. Even if you want to cry, baby, you can’t let them see that. That detective is out to break you. But I refuse to let you be broken. So wipe you tears and hold your head up. You are a strong black woman, Charm Bradley. And there is no force that should ever destroy that. You hear me?” Charm took a deep breath.

  “I hear you.”

  “Wipe your face off,” Denzel ordered. Charm wiped her face with her t-shirt and sucked in a deep breath. “You’re strong,” Denzel said.

  “Yes,” Charm breathed.

  “You’re a smart ass woman.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a sexy ass woman.” Charm chuckled, even though there should have been nothing remotely funny about this. But Denzel always had a way of making her feel good.

  “Yes,” she chuckled.

  “This will come out in our favor, baby. And the road will be rough, but I want you to face it head on. We all have your back, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Time’s up,” someone shouted on Charm’s end of the phone.

  “Wait, give me 2 more minutes!”

  “Hang it up!” Charm’s heart began pumping faster. She didn’t want to lose Denzel just yet. His strong voice was holding everything together for her. But the officer was tugging the phone away from her ear.

  “Denzel!” Charm called out.

  “It’s fine, Charm! You’ll be okay. I’ll be here for you, I promise!”

  “I don’t want to-” She fought with the officer who was close to snatching the phone away from her. Panic filled her veins at the thought of being taken away from Denzel again.

  “Just let go, Charm!” Denzel shouted through the phone. “I’ll always be here for you!”

  “I love you!” Charm blurted out. The officer grabbed the phone and slammed it on the receiver hanging up. Charm stood there with her hand over her mouth. What did she just blurt out?

  Denzel stood there stoically. He let his arm drop to his side with his phone clutched tightly. His heart was beating irregularly.

  “What happened-what’d, what’d she say?” Brianna asked. Denzel just blinked before he looked at Brianna.

  “She’s gonna be okay,” he said. He sat down on the long bench with his head in his hands. He was so shocked he really didn’t know what to do or say. Charm Bradley just said she loved him.

  From that point, Denzel lost focus on anything else. Their situation was all messed up yes, but that didn’t mean their feelings were anything to mess with. Every moment he was with her was a moment he cherished. He already knew he was falling for her hard. But hearing her say those words shifted something in his body. Gabrielle had said she loved him. But when Charm said it, it was like he was hearing it for the first time.

  “Denzel!” Brianna called him, snapping him from his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Charm coming from the back of the precinct with police officers flanking her. How much time had passed? Denzel shot up from his chair. The officer from the front desk came to stand next to Denzel awaiting the other officers. Stopping right in front of him, Charm didn’t want to look anywhere but Denzel’s eyes. She knew what she’d blurted out, and she just had to live with it. Maybe her conscience just knew what she really wanted. There was no hiding it.

  Charm was sure the officers weren’t going to let her talk to Denzel at all, but after the female officer from the front desk spoke to the officers next to her, they reluctantly backed up. Denzel hurried to get close to her, but the officer standing next to her blocked him from getting too close.

  “No touching,” he ordered. Denzel sucked his teeth hard. But he couldn’t argue. They were actually letting him see her. And even handcuffed and disheveled, she looked so beautiful. She was holding her head up like Denzel had told her to do, and her eyes were fierce with determination.

  “Did someone put their hands on you?” Denzel asked, ignoring what the officer said with not touching her. He righted her shirt and the light jacket she had on.

  “This guy was a little rough snatching the phone away from me,” Charm spoke, looking at the officer next to her.

  “I’m sure the judge would love to hear that,” Denzel said. “I’ll make sure to let the lawyer know.” The officer shifted uncomfortably. Charm stepped a little closer to Denzel so she could whisper.

  “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I’m trying to be strong, but-”

  “No but’s, baby girl. Just remember what I said, please. I’ll get you out of this.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly. When the officers didn’t stop him, he went in a little deeper. She sighed and pecked his lips like her life depended on it.

  “I’ll be out here fighting for you. Know that, Charm.” She nodded as he kissed her cheek.

  “I… It’s crazy, Denzel, but I meant what I said.”

  “Alright, time to go.” The officer pulled her away from Denzel and began dragging her towards the exit.

  “We got your back!” Brianna called out to her. Jason was too emotional to say anything, but Charm smiled at him before she disappeared outside. Denzel felt his heart begin to crush, seeing her leave. He needed to get her back. He wanted her back. And he felt like he was going to have a heart attack without her.

  “What’d she mean when she told you that she meant what she said?” Brianna asked him. Denzel looked at both Brianna and Jason.

  “Before the officer snatched the phone away from her when she called me…”

  “Yeah?” Brianna coaxed him.

  “She said she loved me,” Denzel admitted. He watched as Brianna’s and Jason’s eyes went wide with shock.

  “Oh shit,” they said, at the same time.

  Chapter Two

  “She’s gone,” Gabrielle sang into the phone when she called Destiny. “The cops came for her and took her away.”

  “Where are you?” Destiny asked.

  “I’m sitting in front of Denzel’s house. He’s been gone ever since they took her downtown. I’m hoping he comes back without her. That means this shit worked. But it looked like the real deal. They had her in cuffs and read her rights and everything!”

  “Oh, she’s done for! You’d better make your move on your man while you can,” Destiny said. “We both need to make moves.”

  “I’ll let you know if I find out anything new,” Gabrielle said, before hanging up the phone. She smiled in delight as she waited for Denzel to come back home. She knew it would have taken the police some time to go and pick her up after Destiny called in the tip, but it was so blissful seeing Charm being led away in cuffs. And if Gabrielle wasn’t keeping a faithful eye out on Denzel’s place, then she would have missed it. And she was going to wait right by his house until he returned home.

  She wasn’t paying attention to the clock at all, but when Denzel’s car came onto the block, she sat up immediately. She crossed her fingers that he didn’t come out with Charm, but even though Charm wasn’t there, to her displeasure, Brianna was at his side. Gabrielle rolled her eyes. She didn’t hate Brianna, but the girl was annoying! Gabrielle was convinced Brianna wanted Denzel all to herself. But she wasn’t letting Brianna stop her. She fluffed her droopy hair, applied lip gloss, and smacked her lips, before hopping out of the car.

  Denzel was almost inside the front of his building when he heard Gabby calling his name. He sighed hard. He really didn’t need any more drama right now. But he turned around and watched as she jogged across the street towards him. She was dressed like a normal woman again and not like a diva. But none of that really mattered to him. Maybe it used to. But Charm just admitted to loving him. He couldn’t even see Gabrielle in the same light anymore even though he’d given her ten years of his life and had loved her.

  “What is it?” He asked.

  “I came by earlier, but you weren’t here, so I just decided to wait for you to come
home.”

  “Okay, I’m home. You need something?” She shrugged.

  “Pretty lonely. I wanna talk about that dream I had too.” She mumbled. Denzel rolled his eyes.

  “Alright fine, whatever.” He opened the door to his building and let both Brianna and Gabrielle in before he went in behind them.

  “If you don’t want her company, Denzel, you should just say so,” Brianna said, loudly, not bothering to whisper. Gabrielle, of course, heard her, but kept a smile on her face.

  “We got enough shit to deal with.”

  “Brie, please,” Denzel said. He knew she was on high alert, especially without knowing what Gabrielle did to him in the first place. But he just needed peace right now.

  Gabrielle snickered at the scolding Denzel gave to Brianna. If she was her old self, she would be snapping at Brianna, but she was learning to stay reserved and act innocent. Denzel would eat that shit up and be on her side, no matter what.

  “Looks like you left in a hurry,” Gabrielle commented, when she saw the disarray of the loft. He had dinner on the stove that didn’t even look like he’d touched it.

  “Yeah, something came up,” he mumbled.

  “Are you okay?” Gabrielle noticed he seemed distant, as if his thoughts were overpowering him.

  “Um, yeah, Gabby, I’m good.” He was turning in circles trying to clean up the place. Gabrielle actually hated seeing him like that. Something was definitely worrying him.

  “Hey, sit down,” Gabrielle said. She took his hand and forced him to sit in the chair in the kitchen around the table. The moment he sat, he put his face in his hands. Brianna gave her a look before she sat across from Denzel. Gabrielle rolled her eyes before she started cleaning up the kitchen and reheating the food Denzel was making.

  Picking his head up from his hands at hearing the clanking of pots together, Denzel was shocked to see Gabrielle cleaning his kitchen for him and reheating the dinner he was supposed to share with Charm. She felt his stare and turned to look at him. She smirked and blushed like they were in high school again.