by Maine, Miley
I was sure Tony could do that. His reach and influence were unparalleled.
I turned on the television to keep me company. I just had to get my mind on something else while I waited. I was so tired, but I didn’t want to sleep. I was terrified that somehow Saul would come bursting through the door any second, but it was a long flight from Los Angeles to Anchorage. It was at least six hours if you were super-fast. It would take him a few hours to probably get on a flight.
I just had to sit tight until then.
At some point I did doze off. I woke up with the remains of the night slowly fading against the invading light outside. Tony still wasn’t home. It was getting too close. There was no way I could deal with Saul on my own. And I couldn’t bring myself to trust in the system Tony had set up.
The panic gripped me. It seized me until I was no longer thinking rationally. I was in total survival mode with fear governing every single decision I was making. I had to get out of there.
I was too wired to sit still anymore. I went upstairs to our bedroom and I put on some sweatpants, and a hoodie. Then I threw on some white socks and my best sneakers. I packed a couple small pistols into my small backpack and then I headed out of the house. I had to get away from there. I was too frightened to stay there alone. I had no idea when Saul would show up, or when Tony would show up. I believed that Tony was going to tell the local cops he had on his payroll to stay put until he gave the orders. He wanted this to be a trap. They most likely wouldn’t come for me. I was on my own until then.
This was the way Tony wanted it to be. He was done with this. He wanted to end it. So, did I. But I knew Saul. He didn’t. The man could not be contained through ordinary means. Tony had no idea who he was really going up against.
I left the house and began walking across the field. I figured I would go to one of the duck blinds and hide out there. Tony loved duck hunting and he’d actually turned me onto it a bit. But I was nowhere near as enthusiastic about it as he was. I would hide out there and wait until I knew who was going to be there first.
The night was dark and cold. I wished I’d bundled up a bit better, but it was too late to turn back now. No. I had to keep moving forward. I kept thinking about my parents. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to them or tell them that I love them. I just had to keep hoping that everything would be ok.
I moved across the field and into the edge of the woods. I edged into the early morning and took a deep breath as I made my way farther from the house. This might have been stupid, but I wasn’t going to take the chance that Saul got to me faster.
I just hoped I was doing the right thing.
17
Tony
I was awakened by the stewardess, Abbie. She’d flown on my private jet with me for a few years now. She shook me awake. I’d fallen asleep going over some contracts at my desk in my makeshift office on the plane. I could see that we were actually approaching daylight. It felt good to see the dawn of a new morning.
“Sir, we are about to enter Anchorage and will be landing in about five minutes,” she said.
I smiled. “Thanks, Abbie.”
I roused myself up and stretched my legs as I made my way to my actual seat where I buckled myself into the seatbelt to prepare for landing. As I sat there buckled in, I grabbed my phone. I saw immediately that my tracker was activated. Julie was on the move. I’d placed a tracker in her phone to let me know where she was just in case she was ever abducted. With Saul running around out there you couldn’t be too safe. I had neglected to tell her about it. If she didn’t know about it, then Saul wouldn’t either. That was the thinking behind it anyway.
Saul… that bastard. He had actually taken her parents hostage. What a piece of work. That was when I saw the notification on my phone. Damn. How long had I been out?
It was a voicemail. “Mr. Caplan. We have the suspects apprehended. We did not discover the location of Saul. We suspect that he has his own plane, most likely a small, single engine, or he is on the highway Sir. We aren’t sure and these guys are not talking. But the family is safe. No one was harmed. The perpetrators have been handed over to the proper authorities.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Yes. That is what I like to hear. Now, we just have to get Saul where he fucking belongs.”
I hoped I’d get there before him. Did the guy have his own plane? If he did, I doubted it was a jet.
The tracker said that Julie was running towards the woods from the house. I had to zero in on her precise location, but that was what is showed. Where was she going? Was Saul there by some miracle? It didn’t really matter if she was there or not, I supposed. I could trap Saul by myself without really using her as bait.
But it would work better. We could get him to admit that he was there for her, possibly get his voice on audio recording saying all the things he was going to do to her or had done to her in the past. All of that would be instrumental in getting him a long stay in prison.
I understood why she was so frightened. I was asking a lot of her, but this situation wasn’t going to go away by being afraid and running from it. We had to meet it head on and eliminate it once and for all. I could only imagine how hard it was for her, but that was why I felt it was kind of necessary to force her hand on this action. I was going to take care of this situation as much of it was possible as I was in a position to do so. This would work. It had all been carefully thought out. Julie just needed to believe me.
The plane began to make its descent. I saw the sights of the airport coming into view and I watched with wonder as the plane descended down from the sky. I loved flying. I had always loved it, being a part of the wonderful sky and flying high above everything. There was no traffic. There was no congestion, and there was absolutely nothing up there but you and the hand of God reaching out to you. It made me feel so powerful somehow.
When we finally landed, I left the jet and made my way to the car that was waiting for me. My driver, Douglas, put my bags in the trunk and then I stepped into the back of the limo. I grabbed my phone and called one of my cop friends, Derek. We had been friends since shortly after I bought the mansion in Anchorage. He was a trustworthy guy. I liked him quite a bit and I hoped that after all of this was over that Julie would end up trusting him as well.
“Hey, Derek,” I said. “How’s it going? You see anything strange from your end?”
“Not really, other than Julie ran off into the woods. But she is alone.”
“Yeah, I think she is just terrified of being there by herself. But you didn’t alert her to your presence, did you? I don’t want her acting too comfortable when this asshole actually shows up.”
“Right. No, I didn’t. She doesn’t know we’ve been standing by the entire time. Are you sure that’s wise? She seems really freaked out.”
“Yeah. It’s the best way. I don’t like deceiving her at all, but if she knew everything about the trap it would definitely affect her ability to act normal. This guy Saul is pretty paranoid. He is used to being double crossed. So we have to let him think he is cool as a cucumber. I don’t expect him to just walk up to the door.”
“Ok,” he said. “How soon are you going to be here?”
“I’m not,” I said. “I’m thinking I might just hide out somewhere close by until this thing comes to a head.”
Derek coughed. “Well, I was thinking we’d sneak you into the house and you could hide out there. That way when this guy comes in at least you will be in there. Even with us being this close, it is still going to take a few minutes to actually get to him. If this guy is as crazy as you say, then I don’t think we want to take any chances.”
“Yeah, you know what? You’re right. That might be better. And I might talk Julie into going back inside.”
“Right. She will be comforted to know you are actually here, now.”
I ended the call and dialed Julie. She answered it quickly. “Tony? Where are you?”
“I’m about twenty minutes from the house,” I said. “L
isten. You need to go back inside and wait for me. If Saul shows up and you aren’t there or if he even suspects that you are trying to screw him over, he is going to bail and the whole operation will just be a watch. We only have one chance to get him.”
“Wait… how do you know where I am?”
“Just trust me. I know. We can talk about it later. Right now, I need you to go back inside and get warmed up. You have to wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”
“Ok,” she said. “I love you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Love you, babe. I’ll be right there.”
The call ended and I leaned back in the seat. I popped open a whiskey and leaned back. The warm liquid began to calm my own nerves. I was getting excited. I wanted to see this punk in person and to watch the look on his face, that doubt in his eyes when he realized he was royally fucked. And I wanted to introduce myself in person that way so that he would never forget my name. The prick would never forget that he never should have ever dreamt about laying a hand on Julie. That son of a bitch was going to pay.
I squeezed the bottle hard until it broke in my gloved hand. I wished it was Saul’s thick fucking skull.
I closed my eyes and thought about pointing a gun at him and watching him squirm. I hoped he begged. A part of me genuinely hoped that Derek and the crew did not actually show up fast enough. I hoped Saul did something stupid and I could just shoot him down justifiably right there in my home. The bastard deserved the worst.
I didn’t like feeling so angry at someone, knowing that I could kill that despicable person without, but that was exactly how I felt about him.
I grabbed another small bottle of whiskey and chugged this one, downing the entire bottle. I didn’t usually drink so early in the morning, but today was going to be a day unlike any other. And it would finally end with Julie having the peace back in her life that she deserved.
We approached the house just then. I didn’t see anything alarming going on. And I hoped that Saul didn’t either. This was not some gated community. This was a house out in the middle of the wilderness down a private driveway. I didn’t need the kind of protective measures that I might have required in other areas. It was sweet and peaceful looking here. I hoped Saul felt that warm invitation.
I got out of the car and went into the house where I found Julie sitting at the kitchen table sweating but cold in her sweatsuit. She came to me leaping out of her seat and threw her arms around my neck. I held her close to me. She was so scared. I was glad I was there. I had to reassure her that she would be alright. I kissed her sweetly on the lips and pulled her even closer to me.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry that I left. I just didn’t know what to do. What if he got here first? I woke up and the fear just overtook me. I was going to go hide in one of the blinds until you told me you were almost here.”
“It’s ok,” I said. “You are safe. I’m not going to let him hurt you. But you have to be brave. You are not alone. You have to let him think that you are alone, though. You have to let Saul think that he is winning this. You are acting as a bait, but you aren’t in any danger. I assure you that I would never put you in a harm’s way.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m just so glad you are back home.”
She kissed me hard on the mouth. I hugged her tightly to my chest just then. She was my everything. I loved this woman more than I could ever love myself. I would die before I ever let any harm befall her. She had to see that. Surely, she could see how much she meant to me. I hated that this man was making her so afraid. I would never let him hurt her. I had vowed to keep her safe and protect her.
“Honey, it’s going to be alright. But I need you to be strong. You are brave. You are strong. You are a warrior. And you will have to be all of those things if we are going to do this. I know I can count on you. Baby, just believe in yourself as much as I do, and this nightmare will soon be over.”
She kissed me softly and rested her head against my shoulder. “I am trying.”
18
Julie
I had to do this.
I could do this. I knew it. I was stronger than this. I had to tap into that courage that I held down deep inside of myself. It was ok. Tony believed in me and now I could believe in myself, too. He was here. I would not have to go through all of this alone. I had that backup and support. And we had the cops. We had the monitoring all set up. It would capture Saul as he came up to the house, and everything that he said or did while he was inside with me. I just had to embrace it and just go with it.
We’d been sitting at the kitchen table for about two hours when the motion detector detected some motion driving up the driveway. I could see the Camaro pulling into the driveway. It was him. That dark car, those dark windows, and the darkness inside the car, it was him. I knew it.
I was on my feet instantly. Tony quickly moved towards the back of the kitchen. “I’ll just be over here. Good luck. You will be fine.”
Tony disappeared down the hall into a side room. He would be hiding there with his revolver ready. I could hear him on radio with Derek and asking the cops to be ready as well.
My heart had leapt into my throat. I felt sick to my stomach. My head felt like it was going to fall off my shoulders. I really felt like I was going to die today. Something was going to go wrong. I could feel it. It would go wrong and then the whole thing would go to shit. I’d be dead. Maybe Tony. And Saul would finally die in a hail of gunfire from the cops. At least he’d be gone. But I was not going to let this bastard cut my life short now. I had far too much to live for.
I watched as Saul’s feet swung out of the open car door and then the rest of him lumbered out. He looked just as I had remembered him. He was tall, stocky, with broad shoulders and a heavy walk. His movements were slow as if he didn’t care anything and had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted. It was really a bit scary to watch. He was such an intimidating figure. It just came naturally to him. And he was so used to watching people get scared and recoil from his mere presence. Even in prison he’d been in charge of things.
He knocked on the door. I froze. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted it to all be over. Why couldn’t it be over? Why did this had to happen to me? Couldn’t I just close my eyes and be in dreamland? It was a nightmare. That was all. A horrible nightmare.
The knock came again.
I summoned the courage to open the door. My feet felt as if they would never reach my destination. But I found myself there, gripping the doorknob, and then turning it as I opened the door.
There he was.
Saul stood there for several seconds watching me. His swagger was so damned cocky. I hated him so much. I wished so badly that I had never met him. He was vile and disgusting to me. I wanted him dead so badly. I’d never actually wanted someone dead before, but now I wished that for him. I wanted that son of a bitch six feet under.
“Well, aren’t you a sight?” he asked.
I hated the sound of his stupid voice. I didn’t respond. I just glared at him. Then I turned and walked back into the kitchen.
He followed me allowing the door to close behind him. “Well, are you even going to speak to me?” Saul asked.
“Let my family go,” I said. I knew that they were safe, but I had to keep up the ruse. I hoped I didn’t blow it. I was so angry though that I didn’t think this was going to be a real problem anyway.
“Sure,” he said. “Now that I know you are here, and what a beautiful figure you have changed into. Damn, honey. I’ve missed you.”
“Charmed,” I said.
He stepped close to me and stroked my cheek with his finger. I recoiled from him and took a step back. That sparked the anger in him, and he stepped quickly forward and grabbed my face in his hand. He held me close to him and growled in my face. “Don’t you dare fucking back away from me!”
I was scared, so scared, but I found right then that my anger and my hatred far
outweighed it. I decided to play along with the fool. “Or what? You going to beat me up like you used to? You going to kill me like you killed Jack, Benny, and what was that other guy’s name? Toby? Right?”
He shrugged. “Wow, I guess I thought I had pulled a few over on you. I didn’t even know you even knew I finished those idiots, but kudos to you. Now, as far as you and me… you will obey me and do what I say. I’m your husband, remember?”
“No. I divorced your ass a long time ago when you were behind bars where you belong. You never should have come here for me.”
“Why not? You are mine. You will always be mine, no matter what some stupid piece of paper says. You belong to me.”
“I don’t belong to anyone. I have my own independent identity and I decide things for myself. You understand that you piece of shit?”
I watched his eyes fly wide with fury. I wondered what he was going to do to me. I was trying to push his buttons, get him to make a move, and also it felt so good to insult him. The look on his face was priceless.
“You bitch!” he screamed.
He swung his meaty right hand at me. I ducked under it and came up with a hard straight jab to his nose, stepping into the jab as Tony had taught me and throwing my weight behind it to center the power right on my first two knuckles. I connected with his nose and I felt and heard the crunch of his nose.
He staggered back grunting loudly with shock and pain. The blood poured from his nose instantly. Saul caught himself and reached for his nose. He felt the blood and wiped it away, staring at his hand in disbelief. He glared at me with fire in his eyes. “You bitch. I guess someone taught you a move or two. Would it be that rich asshole you’ve been banging? Yeah? Well, I’ll fix his ass, too.”
Saul stepped forward and charged at me. He threw his weight at my midsection to tackle me. I quickly sidestepped the move and threw my leg out to trip him. He stumbled over my leg and ran headfirst into the wall. I got into stance and then quickly kicked him in the back of the head with a vicious back leg side kick.
