Over Lychee martini’s she asked Martin about the rumors she’d heard about him being involved with gangsters and ordering the execution of a man in Mexico when things didn’t go the way they were planned. It made her feel a lot better when Martin looked her in the eyes and told her that those things weren’t true.

Martin told her that he had heard the rumors and was doing everything in his power to put a stop to them. Then he assured her that he wasn’t the type of man to be involved in anything like that. He even seemed to be a little hurt and somewhat disappointed that she would ask him questions like that. Ebony could feel the sincerity in his voice coming through loud and clear when he told her, "I love you, Ebony. I wouldn’t do anything that would mess up what we have here," Martin said to her and kissed her hand. "I would do anything for you."

Anything but divorce your wife, Ebony thought.

On her way home she gave some thought to the fact that she was in love with a married man. Hell, I’m not the first and I won’t be the last, she thought. But no matter how she tried to rationalize what she was doing, the facts were still the same-she didn’t seem to care. His wife couldn’t love him as much as she did. The frigid bitch could never make love to him the way she did. And he didn’t love her; not anymore. He couldn’t love his wife the way that he loved her. He couldn’t, and that was all there was to it.

Ebony turned on Riverside Drive and circled the block again, thinking maybe she should end all the drama and look into getting a garage. She finally spotted a place to park and began the three-block walk toward her apartment.

She had walked about a block when Ebony heard footsteps coming up quickly behind her. Ebony looked over her shoulder and saw two men walking behind her. She began to walk faster, and so did her pursuers. Once she rounded the corner of 132^nd Street, Ebony began to run as fast as she could in a tight skirt and heels. As the men hit the corner they began to run after her.