by Ann, Bry
“I may hate them, but I don’t wish them skinned, Guy,” she giggles.
“What about dead?”
She pinches her fingers together real small, squinting her eyes all fuckin’ cute. “Just a few.”
“Murderer!” I gasp, pointing at her face.
“Are you Scar now?”
I drop my arms, wearing a proud look.
“Now, Kiki, the fact that you got that reference makes you my new favorite person.”
“Nerds unite.”
“What if I go with you?” The words spill out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Kiki freezes. “What?” she whispers.
Shit, what am I doing?!
“I have friends in high places, ya know? Well, low places, depending on how you look at it. I guarantee Anthony would be no match for my best friend.”
“Best friend,” she whispers, sounding kinda dazed. “Why would you wanna help me?”
“‘Cause I think you’re pretty damn cool, Anthony’s a dick, and I have nothing better to do.”
Yes, I do. Stay safe and happy on my land. But I don’t wanna watch her go. Not while knowing she’s in trouble. I think I want to prevent that more than I wanna stay here. Alone.
“I am cool,” she whispers, “and Anthony is a dick. We’ve established that’s true.”
I smirk. “Are you gonna tell me I have nothin’ better to do, too?”
“No, I won’t say that. I’ll imply that, but say it? No, never.”
With a wink, she goes back to… well, I don’t know what she’s doing. It’s not like she has to pack her shit. She came here with a knapsack.
“Kiki.” I take a step closer to her. She’s hunched over. I can’t get a read on her. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” she whispers.
“Why not? I may or may not have friends in the mafia. We could order a beatdown and everything. It’ll be fun.”
“The mafia?!” Kiki chokes, then coughs so hard I think for a moment I may have to give her the Heimlich. “You’re kidding?”
She looks at me, cringing.
“Oh God, I don’t think you’re kidding. You’re not kidding, are you?”
“Nope, not kidding.”
“Who the hell are you?” She laughs a little maniacally. “You have a James Bond level computer set up in your island house. You have friends in the mob. You’re funny. You’re nice. The fuck? God, Rain would just love you. Literally. Love. You.”
“I'm flattered. I think?”
“I don’t know if it was a compliment or an insult or what it was,” she admits.
“So, I guess I'm comin’ with you. Fuckin’ hell.”
“What gave me away?”
I look her up and down purposefully, so she notices.
“You’re in my t-shirt. I don’t abandon women in trouble who wear my shirts. It’s a rule.”
“Women in trouble not wearing your shirts?” She cocks an eyebrow.
“Eh, I have an island to run.”
“Oh my God, you’re awful,” she laughs. “Literally awful. You’re going to hell.”
“Where my people are. I wanna see—”
“Don’t you dare quote the Little Mermaid as part of a hell reference. I’ll cut you where you stand.”
“Ooh, now who’s going to hell?”
“You’re a bad influence, Guy.”
“Don’t forget the middle name, sweetness.”
“Stop,” she giggles harder so her cheeks are red. “I'm not supposed to be laughing, and I don’t think Lucifer calls anyone sweetness.”
“The devil does what he wants.”
“Well, you’re not the devil.”
“What am I then, Kiki? If I'm not the devil, what am I?”
I'm not kidding anymore. I have no clue what the fuck am I. Am I bad? Am I good? Am I nice? Am I cruel?
Frances knows who he is. He’s a bad motherfucker. A psycho. He’s “the bad guy.”
I'm lost.
Kiki knows it, too. She takes three steps closer to me and gets close. Real, real life close. Then, right as I think she’s gonna give me some sweet, sensitive reply, she smashes down on my toe with her heel.
“Fucking hell, Kiki!” I screech, leaping back.
“You’re alive. That should be good for now.”
“I take back all I said. We’re no longer friends.”
… But I'm grinning. I was sad, now I'm grinning. Huh.
“Aww,” Kiki fake pouts. “Man can handle foot-long snakes but can’t handle a stubbed toe.”
I walk up and pinch her nose. “You’re trouble.”
She looks down. “You mean it? You’ll go back with me?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Guy,” she whispers in that squeaky voice she uses when she gets shy.
“I'm comin’ with you, doll. You girls will be fine.”
“You’re so sure,” she whispers. I can see her trembling, but she’s trying not to let her emotions crash too hard, so I don’t mention it.
I chuckle darkly. “Yeah, Kiki, I'm sure.”
Fuck this guy. If I can handle a childhood on the streets, some woman-beating egomaniac should be no problem. Besides, I can use my best friend if I have to.
Kiki
Guy’s antsy. He said he was cool escorting me back, making sure I'm safe before we part ways, but his body language tells a different story. He’s tense as our captain—no idea how you get a boat out here—takes us out into the open ocean.
I glance over at Guy. He’s lost in his head. I can tell. I could probably punch him in the nose and he’d be caught off guard. I’d be tempted to try in a teasing manner, to get him out of his head, but the boat rolls over its first wave and I'm a goner. This is just as awful and terrifying as when I came out here. I don’t hate the ocean, nor am I truly scared of it, but I feel so small against something so powerful. I feel at risk. It’s not a feeling I like.
“You look ready to explode.”
I exhale out a deep breath and glance over at Guy with a smile on my lips. I totally was sitting up straight with every single muscle in my body clenched.
“Scared of the ocean, too?” His lip twitches.
“I'm not scared of the ocean!”
His smirk widens, and I’ll admit, it makes me happy to be able to get him out of his head. I don’t know why he’s anxious to leave this barren island, and it is a little strange in some ways, creepy even, but I know whatever his reason is, it’s painful. Really painful. A pain I probably couldn’t even begin to understand.
“Sure you’re not, Kiki.” He locks his whole body up in a mocking imitation of me.
“I'm not scared of the ocean, but the waves—”
As if I called for it, a huge wave makes the boat seem to fly. A squeak escapes my lips and I latch onto Guy’s hand. He chuckles and curls his fingers around me, squeezing a little. Instantly, a little of my attention is diverted from the waves to the way his hand feels in mine. His hands are calloused, rough; there are ridges like there are scars and unhealed skin. His hands are a story, one I desperately want to know.
“Are the waves always this big?” I gasp when the boat crashes forward back onto the water.
“Sometimes, it depends. Jesus, your hands are sweaty.”
“I'm sorry!” I tug my hand away. “That’s gross.”
“A bit, yeah,” he laughs, but he doesn’t seem to be judging me.
“Hold on back there!” the captain calls back. “We got a doozy coming.”
“Fuck me,” I mutter.
Guy laughs harder. “How the hell did you make it over here? I mean, babe, you made the trip half on your own.”
Babe. He called me babe. I'm gonna stay calm. Not gonna freak. Totally calm.
“There weren’t this many waves when I came down. Urg,” I squeak when we start to ride the wave to the sound of our captain’s manic laughter. Great, he’s insane. He’d have to be to do this job, I guess. Still, that d
oesn’t make me feel safe.
“Aw, shucks, come here, Keeks.”
“Where?” I scream over the waves.
He leans over, grabs my wrist, and tugs hard. I practically topple over into his lap, but he rights me before it’s super weird. His hands go around my back.
“Don’t look at the water. That’s only making it worse. Snuggle up to Guy and just ride it out. It’s like a shot at the doctor’s: always worse when you see it.”
“I—”
When I glance up, he’s waggling his eyebrows. He’s so ridiculous. With an eye roll, I do as he says. I scoot closer and tuck my head into the crook of his arm. And he’s right. When I don’t see the ocean, I just feel gentle, and sometimes not so gentle, rocking. It’s not as terrifying. I know he’s got me.
“I'm scared,” I whisper after several minutes.
“I assume it’s the waves.”
“Not the waves,” I choke.
“Don’t worry about Anthony, I promise, Kiki. He’s nothing compared to the men I’ve dealt with in my past.”
“Like who?”
He exhales a deep breath. “Kiki…”
“Guy… you know some of my life.”
He tenses and slumps at the same time. It’s a strange move I don’t know how to describe.
“I was homeless for a few years. No big deal.”
I squeeze him tightly so he knows I know… The last thing those years were was no big deal. They were big enough to make him leave. Not the city nor the state nor even the country. No, he left it all. Society. People. All of it.
“I'm sorry.”
“Don’t be. No big.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
He tenses. “Drop it, Kiki,” he warns.
“Drop it like it’s hot?”
A relieved breath blows out of him as he laughs.
“You’re a cool chick. I’ll give you that.”
“Thanks.”
I don’t know if he realizes it, but he holds me a little tighter. He even fiddles with the ends of my hair. I shouldn’t feel safe with him, but I do.
I really fuckin’ do.
* * *
Guy is subtle when he hands the captain a wad of cash. He literally slips it to him to hide the amount from me, but I see the stack. Holy shit, no wonder this man braved the terrain. I’d probably fucking try for that stack.
How rich is this guy?
I don’t realize I'm staring until Guy waves a hand in my face.
“Earth to Kiki. Any place you wanna go or should I book a hotel?”
My hands begin to shake as I reach around for my phone, wallet, I don’t know.
“I-I’ll pay. You’re only doing this for me. You’re doing this crazy thing for me. I pay. I—”
“Kiki.” He grabs my wrist. “I’ll pay.”
“I’m sorry. I—We shared a house. I don’t…”
“Kiki, you’re safe. I swear.” He cocks his head and thinks for a second. “Do you trust me?”
“As much as I can.”
He nods. “I want you to meet my friend. He’ll scare the shit out of you, but I want you to understand that nothing will happen to you. The power Anthony has over you sucks.”
“Your mafia friend?!”
He smiles playfully. It’s the lightest I’ve seen him since I left his island. He loves his friend.
“Yep, that’s the one.”
“Oh,” I scoff. “No big.”
He grins. “Scared?”
“Shut up, I'm not a scaredy cat.”
He grins wider, but doesn’t respond. Smart man.
“My main priority is getting Rain back. I wanna do that before I settle anywhere. I have to go get her. I have to help her.”
“I hear you. Really, I do. Let me go to my friend’s, get the layout of the house printed, grab some backup just in case, and then we’ll go.”
“Fast, okay?”
“Alright, then we better get moving.”
Guy charges forward, bends down so his shoulder crashes into my belly/rib cage area and hauls me over his shoulder. Without missing a beat, he starts walking forward.
“Guy!” I screech, snatching onto his t-shirt for dear life. “I'm gonna crush you.”
He busts out laughing. “Oh, doll, really now? You weigh nothin’.”
“Set me down, I'm serious!”
“You said not to waste time?”
“Me walking isn’t wasting time, you nut!”
“You’re slow.”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not!”
“Slow, scared, and, apparently, six years old.”
“You started it.”
I can almost feel him smiling. “Did not.”
“Oh my God,” I huff. “You’re hopeless.”
“You’re welcome.”
I smile softly against his back. Thank you, Guy.
* * *
“Okay, you’re freaking out, right?”
I look at the giant mansion in front of me and just about die. I'm not gonna lie, I pee my pants a little.
“I—This is…”
“I swear they won’t hurt ya.”
“I don’t know about this, Guy. I don’t wanna be on the mafia’s radar at all.”
He rolls his eyes. Rolls his eyes!
“They don’t care about you, Kiki. You’re like a little dot on their radar. A speck.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You either wanna be on their radar or you don’t, Keeks. You gotta pick one.”
“I don’t wanna be on their radar, but I also want to know I’m not that easily forgettable,” I huff.
“Awww, Kiki.”
“Shut up,” I mutter.
“This isn’t about the mafia. I won’t forget you. Trust me,” he laughs like he’s maybe slightly bitter about the situation, “I wouldn’t be here if you were easily forgettable.”
Despite how irrational it is, I can’t help the little butterflies in my stomach.
“Fine. For Rain. Let’s go get her.”
He smiles devilishly at me, but doesn’t say anything.
“You’re an asshole,” I mumble.
He chuckles, but only grabs my elbow and drags me forward to the gate in front of us. Without a care in the world, he whistles. Like something out of a—in my opinion—horror movie, guards come out of both sides of the gate. Some even pop their head out from a lookout station above us. I immediately jump to Guy and grab his arm with both of my hands. He doesn’t laugh at me this time. He strokes my arm once before turning to the guards. Much to my surprise, they know him.
“Here to see Frances?”
“Yep, how are you all doing this fine day?”
They ignore him. Meanwhile, I’m being maybe dramatic, hooking onto his arm like glue with my face pressed against his shoulder.
“Is she okay?” one of them asks in a little bit of a condescending tone.
“Yeah, she’s good.”
I can tell they want to taunt me, but they don’t. Which I’m grateful for.
“I don’t like this,” I mutter.
“I know.”
That’s really all that’s said until three or so minutes later, when a man walks out. I’m still holding onto Guy for dear life, but I’m at least looking this time. The man in front of me is dressed impeccably, three-piece suit and all. He’s got slicked back, golden hair and dark eyes. He’s attractive, but scary. When I picture “mafia”, he’s exactly the kind of man I’d picture.
I squeeze Guy tighter. My eyes widen when I feel the unmistakable bulge of a gun at his waistband. He has a gun on him.
“What the hell are you doing here and who the hell is this?” As soon as the words leave his lips, a slow smile spreads across his face. “Oh, I have to get Marley for this. This is too good. You gonna come inside or are you waiting for me to get you ‘cause she’s acting like a little bitch?”
I gasp. Asshole!
“Shut up, old man. I need
a map of a property and access to surveillance.”
“What kind of trouble did she—” It’s then that he really looks at me. He sees the healing yellow bruises and little scars that managed to stick. Ones from the cigarette burns especially.
“Oh,” is all he says, awkwardly. “Well, quit being weird, kid, and get inside. Do what you need to. You know the boss won’t care.”
Boss?! Like mafia boss?! I’m. Gonna. Faint.
“You should introduce your shaking pet to Boss’s wife, Lacey. She’d probably adopt her into that weird little group she has going on.”
“We’re busy. Just take us where I need to go. When did you get so chatty?”
The man glares, hard. It’s a glare that would scare a lesser man, but Guy isn’t even fazed.
“Come on. You know where to go. Do I need to fucking lead you there?”
“Aww, can you? I know you missed me.”
The man freezes. I barely hear it, but he whispers, “You know I did.”
Unlike the teasing smiles from earlier, that sentiment from this terrifying man makes Guy smile a real, genuine smile. Neither of them say anything else as he leads us inside. God, this house is huge. Giant.
“Dad!” a young girl’s voice screeches. “You said I could!” A light lisp coats her words.
“Oh shit, here comes the boss,” Guy’s friend chuckles. He’s thrilled I’m about to shit my pants. God, I can’t stand this guy. What does Guy see in him?
“… Yes, that was before I realized you were gonna be the only girl at Radar’s party, Rose.”
“I’m not gonna kiss any of them!”
I can’t help it. My lips twitch.
“You’re right. ‘Cause you won’t be there to kiss.”
“You finally get my lisp under control and, ugh! Mom will let me!”
“Your mother and I are on the same team. If I say no, she will stand by that.”
Well, that’s… sweet. I like that.
My sweet thoughts vanish when a tall man in a suit with intense eyes walks in the room. His eyes go right to me. The stranger.
“Frances. Guy.”
He nods at each of them. Frances, that’s the asshole’s name. Now I remember.
“You are?” He looks to me. God, he oozes power. Right as I’m about to attempt to open my mouth, the most beautiful young girl with voluminous dark curls and almond-shaped grey eyes comes running into the room.
