Humbled

By D.J. Glover

Ever had the disturbing feeling of greedily wanting more? What about being unappreciative of what you already have? We've all experienced this uneasy state of mind, especially Judge Kyle Smith.

After sentencing the city's most notorious kingpin to prison, Smith's world slowly begins to shatter. If he doesn't stop overthinking and start understanding, his entire family will be at risk.

Enjoy the page-flipping roller coaster of a plot spin in this bilateral suspense. This frolicsome read will have your head spinning to the very last chapter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889602439

Book preview

cover.jpg

Humbled

D.J. Glover

Copyright © 2023 D.J. Glover

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88960-228-6 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88960-243-9 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

About the Author

To my loving mother, who introduced me to art at an early age and inspired me to want more. Thank you!

To everyone who think they can do it, feel like they can do it, but haven't done it yet. Whatever it may be, go do it!

Lastly, to anyone who had any doubt in me. You birthed a deep passion of motivation. You are very much appreciated!

Chapter 1

The day was very cloudy. It was possibly going to rain soon but hadn't as of yet. Only light sprinkles drizzled from the skies above. Kyle revved up the expressway in his BMW, making any other vehicle it left behind appear inferior compared to its dominance. The sign read 65 mph, but the speedometer of the luxury vehicle quickly inclined within a matter of seconds—75 mph…85 mph…95 mph. The car rapidly managed to reach dangerous speeds of 107 mph.

Yes…I'm on the way right now! Kyle barked into the phone to his wife, Christina.

Okay, because our baby has now advanced to the final round, Kyle. Can you believe it? She's doing great! So…are you truly on your way, Kyle?

Kyle's other cell phone made a beep sound, indicating a notification; he'd just received a text message.

Kyle? Christina asked.

The phone line went silent as Kyle was momentarily sidetracked. He'd decided to scan the content of the text on his secret phone. He selected the message and opened it. It read, Why did you rush out so fast? I wanted more. Come back and let me undress you.

When Kyle finally looked back up to the road, he was going head-on into the rear cab of a large dump truck. He quickly mashed the brakes in an attempt to steer clear of the crash.

Kyle slid left to right, fishtailing, then swerved from behind the truck just in the nick of time, avoiding disaster. As he regained control, he placed his hand over his chest and breathed heavily, feeling his heart race with adrenaline after the swift recovery. What a close call. As if on cue, the light drizzle transformed into a heavy shower, and raindrops attacked the windshield ferociously.

Kyle? Christina asked once more.

Irritated, Kyle lost it and yelled at the top of his lungs, Look, I am driving! Do not call me back. I am on the way. Damn!

A few seconds of silence was followed by Christina saying, Okay, honey, I'm sor—

Rudely, Kyle had already hung the phone up.

Once off the phone, Kyle focused on the road and flew right past the dump truck, leaving it far in the rearview mirror. He again reached high speeds and began talking to himself, I can't miss another one of my daughter's spelling bees. I can't. I have to make it. Kyle picked his phone up and looked back to the message he received. He reread the text. It read, Why did you rush out so fast? I wanted more. Come back and let me undress you. This message came from Rebecca, one of Kyle's secret mistresses.

Kyle recently participated in a steamy affair with Rebecca less than an hour ago, and she was already begging him for more.

She's getting out of control, he thought. Reluctantly, Kyle couldn't help reminiscing about the way Rebecca fully engulfed him.

He instantly became aroused at the thought of going back for seconds. Kyle managed to do away with the thought of Rebecca due to his daughter's spelling bee invading his mind. I'm already late because of you, he yelled, looking into the phone.

No…I can't! was the reply Kyle sent back to Rebecca.

Rebecca immediately texted back, You can't? Stop playing with me Kyle, and bring me what's mine!

He began to send another message when an obnoxiously loud horn grabbed his attention, causing him to look up. Kyle quickly cut the wheel left and dodged, crashing into a slowing Corvette that was exiting the ramp. All control was lost!

The weather caused Kyle's vehicle to hydroplane and glide across the puddled pavement.

Oh…ahh…ahhh! he yelled as he tried to turn the wheel. It was too late. Kyle ran himself right off the highway across the dividing rail into a muddy ditch just beyond the fast lane. Ahh…Helpp…Helpp! The vehicle was now submerged in mud.

Breathing heavily, Kyle sat there with his hands on his head in pitifulness. He couldn't believe what just happened. Kyle touched himself to check for bleeding. After seeing that he was in no pain and that his body withstood minimal injuries, he made a silent, Thank you, Lord.

The next thing Kyle heard was a number of text message alerts back-to-back. There were four consecutive texts from Rebecca. Beep. Are you serious? Beep. Stop playing with me. Beep. You're going to make me seriously hurt you Kyle. Beep. Okay, I know what to do. Kyle couldn't understand why Rebecca was still texting. He grew very angry and powered the stupid phone off.

How in the hell did this just happen to me? In conclusion of his unfortunate accident, Kyle banged the dashboard in raw frustration. Damn, damn, damn! he yelled. After the outrage, he called his insurance agent, and the truck quickly arrived to get him pulled out of the ditch. A series of scratches and a large dent above the bumper directly under the rear left taillight were the only damages the vehicle suffered. It was still drivable. Looking to the skies, Kyle thought, Thank you, God. He then waved bye to the help that'd assisted him out of the ditch and solely focused his thoughts on his daughter Cynthia's spelling bee.

Kyle jumped into action and sped onward to the spelling bee. He raced to the school's exit and continued speeding once off the ramp. Two more blocks and he would finally be at the school. Two blocks and three minutes later, Kyle called his wife as he pulled into the entrance. There was no answer. He tried again and couldn't get through. For some strange reason, Christina didn't answer her phone.

The school's lot was packed, and nearly all parking spots were taken. After circling around a second time, Kyle finally found a parking space. He parked and jumped out of the BMW. Kyle noticed quite a few parents exiting their vehicles heading toward the school's gymnasium. Kyle said to himself, The gym must be where the spelling bee is being held. He hurried to fall in line with a small group of parents to head to the gymnasium with them.

When the group made it to the gym doors to walk in, Kyle discovered that the gym was filled to maximum capacity. The thing was, there was no booth with judges in sight. There wasn't even a stage set up in the gym. Everyone applauded and cheered as two teams with jerseys ran out to the court. It didn't take long for Kyle to realize that this was no spelling bee. There was a volleyball game about to take place in the gym.

Volleyball? Confused, Kyle exited the gym and found himself somewhat lost. Talking to himself, he asked, Well, where is the spelling bee being held? Where is the spelling—? Maybe the auditorium! Kyle hurried down the sidewalk, looking for the auditorium. As he did, he noticed an elderly janitor sweeping a few feet ahead. Maybe he can provide me with the information I need. Kyle walked up to the janitor and read his name tag. The tag read Rayford.

Excuse me, Um…Rayford…sir? Not answering, the old man slowly stopped sweeping and eventually looked up. Kyle handed Rayford the spelling bee invite and asked, Where is this, sir? Hand shaking, Rayford flipped his glasses out of his shirt pocket and looked over the invite. After a brief observation, Rayford handed Kyle his invitation back.

Kyle asked, Can you lend me some help and point me in the right direction of the spelling bee, sir?

With little movement, Rayford nodded his head, then pointed toward the empty road in front of the school.

Baffled, Kyle looked in the direction of the road where Rayford pointed and saw nothing. Kyle was dumbfounded and asked, What? Pardon me? Then in a crackled, wheezing voice, Rayford finally spoke, saying, Everyone's…gone son. The spelling bee ended about…forty minutes ago!

What? At the realization of Rayford's words, a blank-faced Kyle stood there speechless. Rayford's response pained Kyle. He had to ask, Are you serious?

The old janitor didn't hear him or either ignored the question because he just continued sweeping afterward. Kyle had now succeeded at missing yet another one of little Cynthia's spelling bees.

Kyle slowly dragged himself back across the parking lot, becoming soaked in rain in the process. He opened the car door and carelessly plopped onto his plush leather seats. I'm the worst father in the world! He closed the door and yelled at the top of his lungs, Ahhh! He then cranked up and left to head home.

*****

Christina was a beautiful short Caucasian woman standing at 5'2", weighing a hundred ten pounds soaking wet. She kept her skin lightly tanned because she hated her natural paleness. Christina's black hair hung halfway down her back, and she kept it straightened. She never wore short skirts or dresses that came to high up her legs. Being a churchgoer since her teen years, Christina didn't believe in such things.

Christina's mother always taught her that a real woman was a true angel and should always be courteous and carry herself as a queen. This is the only way to find the man you will marry one day, Chrissy, her mother always said. Christina was taught to always cross her legs when she sat, to always listen first before talking, to not have sexual intercourse before marriage, and so on and so forth.

Christina sat down on the large front porch of her three-hundred-thousand-dollar estate in the gated community suburb area of Red Rock Villa. So much time was lost by her simply gazing into the dreamy clouds. It was a mind relaxer, and the mood was easy and quiet. She turned her attention from the clouds down to the beautifully manicured grass in the front yard of her residence—from the grass to the tall trees and greenery alongside the gate that complemented the yard's elegance. The vines entwined majestically throughout the fence line. She looked at the lovely red, yellow, and pink colors of the roses and flowers. They are so soothing. She just loved nature and its effects to calm the mind.

Christina fancied every one of her plants. She liked to think that she kept them in pretty good shape. She loved the small batch out front but was very much obsessed with her floral garden out back beside the pool. In a way, the garden was good for her soul. She sat back and smiled at the inescapable colors of the plants. The wide variety brought positive vibes, and she loved positive vibes.

Christina then thought about the spelling bee today. I am so proud of Cynthia, she finished second place. Christina was very pleased with her daughter's progress. After all the intense hours of expensive tutoring, Christina noticed her daughter's enthusiastic love for spelling, even after each session. Cynthia is becoming more and more advanced. Christina smiled at the thought of how excited Cynthia was to receive her second-place ribbon award.

The first thing Cynthia asked when greeting her brother and mother after the award ceremony was, Where's Dad? Cynthia wanted to show her father how good she'd become. Christina remembered how that exact moment bothered her deeply. It somewhat hurt Christina to see Kyle miss yet another important spelling bee. Christina told her daughter, I think Daddy is stuck at work, honey, when in reality, Christina didn't believe that excuse herself. Christina didn't know exactly how much longer she was going to be able to endure Kyle missing all the important events of the family.

I can't keep lying to my children, she thought. Though Cynthia was overjoyed by the outcome of her achievements, the huge smile on her face seemed to get a bit smaller upon noticing that her father wasn't in the crowd. Becoming teary eyed, Christina shook the thought and turned her attention back up to the cloudy skies. She stood to walk to the edge of the porch and held her hand out. A few small raindrops hit her palm. She noticed there was more wind than rain and sat back down. She exhaled. A familiar sadness came upon her. I'm sick and tired of being lonely all day.

Christina remembered back to the beginning of her marriage when things were so much different. Kyle used to spend most of his time with me. He loved to be with me back then. What is different now? she thought. She shook her head after asking herself the question. She just didn't know the answer.

Christina looked away from the skies to the large fleet of expensive vehicles in the driveway. From the cars to the immaculate diamond ring on her finger. Her eyes wandered from the ring to her lavish zebra designer purse that contained numerous no-limit credit cards. When Christina actually contemplated over all the high-priced subjects, they were just…things. All the things meant little to no value at all to her. They are just things.

What Christina cherished more than all these things was her loved ones. She cherished the time that her husband, Kyle, used to give the family. I would trade it all for the luxury of having my family back together as a unit. Even with all these things, Christina was still an emotional wreck. She loved her husband so much that she would never give up on him and the marriage.

I'll find out what the problem is, and maybe we can have our family time back. Then I'd be happy again. It would bring me so much joy, she thought. Christina would try all that she could to get her relationship back to the high peak it once was. She longed for her husband, for her family back. Kyle used to do little things to make me smile. Years ago, he showed me so many signs of love and affection. As of the last eight or nine months, things had been quite the opposite.

Christina wrapped her jacket tighter around her body as the chilly winds started to blow even harder. Not being able to deal, she decided to abort the porch and head back into the house. She closed the door and took a seat on her favorite piece in the living room—the lambskin love seat. The piece was so comfortable that almost everyone who sat in it fell asleep. Christina relaxed and floated into deep thought.

I'll do anything to rekindle the passion we once had. Christina stared at the roof with one hand on her head. Even though she could never see Kyle with another, she sometimes felt as if they weren't even lovers anymore. Christina never even pictured another in Kyle's life as an option of the problem in her marriage. She constantly blamed herself for every hardship the relationship endured. She told herself, It's me. I'm the problem. I haven't even been sexy enough. Maybe I haven't been dressing up enough for him…I don't know.

She lay down flat on the couch and continued looking up to the ceiling. Christina's self-esteem had been so low lately that she didn't even feel wanted anymore. A few tears rolled down the side of her face. I need to go above and beyond and do something out of the norm to regain the attention of my husband. In this moment, she decided that she would do any and everything she had to in order to revive her marriage. Christina sat up, wiped her tears, and said, Tonight will be special. I know just the thing.

Chapter 2

Kyle noticed his next-door neighbor, Nicholas Dawson (Nick) washing his Bentley Continental and waved before turning into his own driveway. One hand on the water hose, Nick waved back. The two neighbors had been good buddies for quite a few years now. They'd shoot pool and go bowling from time to time. The two also attended the same golf club a county over. Kyle slowly pulled into his driveway and parked his 760.

Kyle looked up and noticed that the sun was barely visible, camouflaging behind a set of clouds creating a lovely combination of purples and pinks in the sky. It would soon be dark out. He killed the powerful engine and just sat there inside of the BMW, lost within the sky's beauty for a brief second before stepping out.

On the way home, Kyle stopped by the local quick mart and fetched a six-pack of beer. Never one to drink and drive, he waited to get home before drinking. Kyle reached into the backseat, grabbed the pack of ice-cold lager, popped one open, and gulped it halfway down. Ahhh, soon followed an unexpected burp.

In the midst of all this, a flash of Rebecca's body came into Kyle's mind. He pictured her humongous tattooed thighs and flat pierced stomach. Kyle looked toward his front porch and saw that no one was on it. He then flipped his other cell phone out and powered it on. Another pleasant sip of his cold brew was enjoyed as he waited for the phone to load. It came on and started beeping crazily. Seven text messages and five missed calls! Are you kidding me? he asked himself.

Kyle checked the calls, and to no surprise, they were all from Rebecca. Every single one of the messages were also from Rebecca. Kyle shook his head and randomly chose to select one of the messages to read. He picked the sixth one and opened it. The message read, I'm going to kill you Kyle, if you don't answer! He shook his head after reading the message, then powered the phone back off. He finished the rest of the beer and said to himself, What a fucking day.

Kyle put the phone away and exited the vehicle. He walked the empty bottle down to the wastebasket at the beginning of his driveway. Kyle made it to the trash can, disposed of the bottle, and checked the mailbox. There were only a few MLB magazines for little Kyle Jr. (Kyle's son) in the box. He grabbed the magazines and glanced to the right to see that Nick was still outside, now rinsing his car off. He then looked to the left and noticed his other next-door neighbor, Timothy Clarkson (Tim), sitting on his front porch smoking a cigar.

Kyle waved at Tim. Even though Tim was looking directly at Kyle, he did not wave back. Well, screw you too, Kyle mumbled. He then shot a bird at Tim with his hands. Tim quickly shot one back. Kyle's dog, Boots, had broken loose from his chain and jumped onto Tim's classic prized Ford GT last summer, causing multiple scratches along the body and top of the vehicle. Kyle apologized dearly and paid for the damages in full. Even though the vehicle had been fully restored, there still seemed to be an unsettled feud between the two men for some reason. Kyle wanted no problems and just didn't understand Tim.

The neighborhood of Red Rock Villa was inhabited mostly by Caucasian residents. Kyle's mother was Caucasian, but his father was a mix of African American descent. Kyle was a rather slim man with a small beer belly pudge. He kept his brown hair cut short and groomed regularly. Kyle took after his father in height and stood at six feet three inches. His clothing of choice was a three-piece suit when working. Off the clock, his attire was a sweater or button-up shirt. Kyle was a shade darker of tone, and his mixed ancestry background showed.

Kyle couldn't help but believe that Tim didn't favor his heritage and sometimes thought that Tim felt he didn't deserve to live here in Red Rock Villa. Tim displayed on numerous occasions that he had a vendetta against Kyle Smith and his family. There was some sort of serious hatred between the two neighbors. Kyle didn't understand it one bit.

Receiving a bird back from Tim, Kyle shook his head and headed on into his front door. After stepping in and closing the door behind him, Kyle started to walk through the living room when something startled him midstride. A dark figure on the love seat. He felt around on the wall until he found the living room light switch. He turned it on to his wife, Christina, sitting there quietly on the love seat. The first thing he saw was her eyes.

Whoa…what are you doing sitting in the dark? What's wrong with you?

Christina stared Kyle down with the most piercing cold eyes. If looks could kill, he'd be history. She sent a chill up his spine with her raw stare. Christina kept quiet for a few seconds, looking at him before replying. Oh…I was just thinking and getting some quiet time. I was waiting on you actually.

Christina then stood up and walked over to Kyle, saying, It's good to see you honey. She then attempted to kiss her husband in the mouth, but he turned to his cheek.

Good to be here too. He then walked to the bottom of the steps, yelling, Cynthia? Cynthia?

She's in the shower! Christina interrupted.

Oh…well, how'd she do?

"She took second place. She