Against The Wall

by Dee J. Adams

  “Jess, I understand. I really do. But how can I give you something I don’t have?”

  “But you do have it. You have four houses, cars, money in the bank. Maurice…” How could he be arguing with her on this?

  “Jess, you’re a sweet kid, but even if I was going to sell one of my houses or a car for you, it {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-indent: 0.0px; font: 100% ""} p.p.t him would take time. No body’s buying anything these days. Even if it happened tomorrow it wouldn’t be nearly enough money.”

  Jess stood there. Stunned. “I can’t believe you.” The sentence came out in a whisper. “How can you do this to me? I’ve worked my ass off for you for three years!”

  “Look, I’ve appreciated everything you’ve done. I’m sure once Facinetti realizes that taking your family isn’t going to get him his money, he’ll let them go.”

  “Let them go?” she repeated. “Maurice, did you hear me? I said he’s threatening to kill them.” Saying it out loud made it that much more real and Jess felt the bottom drop in her stomach for a second time. Panic bubbled in her center.

  Maurice just watched her. “Jess, I want to help you…but I don’t honestly see how I can. I don’t have the money.” He shrugged as if their talk was over. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You don’t know what to tell me?” She nearly spit the words. Fury joined panic and swept through her hot and thick. Anything she said now would’ve come out in a stuttering mass of incoherent syllables. Oh, what she would give for some type of weapon. Something to show Maurice she meant business. That would shock the hell out of him. But with nothing to threaten him with she had to move to plan B. Time for Tanner. Tanner wouldn’t hesitate to use his gun. She knew that all too well. Once she left and the house quieted down, Tanner and she could sneak back in and take Maurice. Then the man would be in her hands without the protection of his posse. He’d have to cave. Tanner would make sure of it.

  “Maurice, you are seriously…” she meant to say seriously lacking scruples and honor, but a sudden commotion broke out down stairs and a bad feeling twisted her already knotted stomach. What if they found Tanner on the grounds? What if their plan to get him face to face with Maurice just crashed and burned?

  Out. She needed to get out now. It’s what Maurice wanted anyway so it shouldn’t be too hard to convince him she was done here…and with him. “Sounds like more bad luck, Maurice. I’ll let myself out the back door.” Better to stay out of sight as long as possible. He didn’t answer as he went behind his desk and shut down his computer. “Consider this my resignation.” When she hoped to get some response from the man, he simply flattened his lips and shrugged off her statement. The creep actually thought she’d slip out of his life without another word. He had another thing coming. “I have paperwork you need and research for the next film,” she told him. She would’ve blackmailed him with it, but suspected he’d only laugh at her. “I’ll get it to you in the morning, and in return I want my paycheck for the last week. Consider yourself assistant-less.”

  Jess took little comfort in storming from the room. She peered over the railing as she headed to the back staircase. Two of Maurice’s goons had Tanner on his knees, his arms twisted behind his back. He saw her, but didn’t make an attempt to speak to her.

  Think, think. There had to be a way out of this. She still needed Tanner’s help if she wanted to get Maurice, but if Maurice every member of your familyle behind thought she knew Tanner then she wasn’t going anywhere either. She doubted Tanner would mention her in any way.

  Moving down the hallway to the gym, Jess found a baseball bat in a closet filled with every piece of sports equipment imaginable. Tanner’s gun would be in the wrong hands at this point, and a bat was better than nothing. Jess hugged the wall, backtracking quickly to the bathroom next to the office. She closed the door and held her breath, listening for any sound.

  The massive gray granite bathroom was about half the size of her apartment. As many times as she’d used this room, she’d never gotten used to its ostentatious amenities. Easily eight feet of wide-open space rested between each wall. Would that help her or hurt her when it came time to listen? She eased toward the door that led to the office.

  It took two agonizing minutes of waiting before she heard more scuffling as the men dragged Tanner up the stairs. Jess strained to listen as the struggle continued in the next room.

  “Tanner Bryant,” Maurice said. “What a surprise. I didn’t realize they’d let you out.”

  “Why? I did most of my time. You made fucking sure of it.”

  Maurice just chuckled. “I did do that. But a father’s got to protect his son. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I understand I did the time that Alex should’ve done. I understand you threw me to the wolves to save Alex and didn’t bother saying anything after he died.”

  Information overload. Jess tried to absorb everything, but her heart pounded too hard. Her palms sweat furiously as she gripped the bat.

  “I didn’t see a point,” Maurice said.

  “No point in freeing an innocent man,” Tanner scoffed. She heard him struggle, heard the muffled sound of a punch and a grunt, squeezed her eyes shut to block it out.

  How had this become her life? So much violence and pain. Physical, emotional. Jess had never dealt with anything like this before. Her stomach threatened a revolt and she swallowed convulsively.

  “I’ll bet you were the one shooting at me earlier, weren’t you,” Maurice went on to say. “I thought it might be Facinetti again, but it was you.”

  “Fuck you, Juneau. You’ve screwed too many people. I’m not the only one you need to worry about. You’ve fucked over so many people that you’ve got no idea who wants you dead. Hell of a way to live your life.”

  Another punch sounded and Jess felt the sting of tears in her eyes. Maurice had let Tanner do time for a crime his son committed. The unfairness made her nausea worse.

  “I won’t have to worry about you anymore, Bryant. You’re going to be another ex-con who disappeared because he couldn’t cut it on the outside. Take care of him,” Maurice said. “Dump him in the desert or the ocean. I don’t care. I’m heading to the penthouse and I’m taking the other guys with me.”

  “No problem,” one of them said.

  “Just don’t do it here. There’s enough blood on my floor as it is. Clean this shit up. I don’t want anything out of place the next time I get back.”

  Jess heard Maurice leave the room, heard the guys murmuring. She didn’t have time to think about the orders he’d given because if she did, she’d lose it. If she didn’t act now, she’d be too late. After a flurry of footsteps moving downstairs, she eased out of the bathroom and peeked through the railing. Maurice walked toward the side door toward the garage with his men behind him. She didn’t have much time. She had to create some kind of diversion.

  Jess went back to the bathroom, closed the door, grabbed the handle and started shaking. “Hey, get me outta here,” she called. “Maurice, get me outta here. The door is stuck! Maurice, are you there?” She heard one of the men coming closer. “Maurice, is that you? I thought you got this door fixed.”

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” the guy said.

  “The door’s jammed. Can you give a hard push and get me out of here?” She held it tight as he tried to jiggle the handle, but when he stopped, Jess stood off to the side with her bat ready, glad the opulent bathroom afforded her room. Two seconds later the door slammed open. The man’s momentum brought him forward and Jess didn’t waver. Taking a step into the swing, she wailed her bat over the guy’s shoulder and he hit the deck with a hard thump. Time sped up and slowed down simultaneously as Jess readied the bat for another shot. But the guy didn’t move. He had long dark hair stuffed into a messy ponytail. She didn’t recognize him. He must’ve been a new hire since the threats from Facinetti started. A delayed bout of shakes took over as her arms quivered and
her heavy breathing faltered. No time to faint now.

  “Rico?” A man’s voice came from the office. It sounded like Dev. He’d worked for Maurice for almost two years now. He was a bald-headed giant, and Jess had always gotten along with him. He was quiet, but loyal. “What’s up? You okay?”

  Panic seized her. What now? Frozen in her spot, Jess grunted then rolled her eyes. Yeah, as if he’d buy that response. When she didn’t hear anything, she eased out of the bathroom and down the hallway toward the door, her bat ready.

  “Let’s go, man,” Dev said to Tanner. “I don’t know your beef with Juneau, but if he says you gotta go, then you gotta go.”

  Jess peeked in just as Dev raised his gun. Oh, God! She didn’t have a choice but to hit him! Tanner’s eyes widened, whether because he saw her or because he had a gun pointed at his chest, she wasn’t sure. With a surge of adrenaline, she took two big steps into the room and whacked Dev at the base of his skull. A dull thud rent the air. He landed hard on the floor and Jess stared at him dumbfounded. She’d become a one-woman demolition team and this time she’d taken out a man she considered a friend. Not that they were good friends, but they both liked basketball and razed each other about their favorite Los Angeles teams. Another round of shakes took hold and her vision blurred.

  “Nic

  Chapter Six

  Tanner blinked away his dizziness. Watching Jess sway in front of him worried him more than the stinging in his side. He’d barely felt the shot, so it couldn’t be too bad. Still, checking it out now, when Jess seemed as if she might hit the deck, probably wasn’t his best plan. He moved toward her, wiping his bloody hand on his jeans and ignoring the pain as it arced up his body and finally screamed into his brain.

  Her method of attack had been appreciated, just not well staged. The bozo with the gun probably hadn’t intended to shoot him in the office, but Jess’s opportunity had been limited too, so he understood her thinking. Attack while she had a back. On the other hand, if the guy had intended to kill him here, he’d have a bullet through his heart right about now so her timing worked fine.

  As much as he wanted to just leave the house, he couldn’t let these two dick heads wake up and sound an alarm. But where could he stash them? “Is there a live-in staff here?” he asked, swiping the man’s gun from the floor. Jess kept her gaze glued to his side, her eyes wide. Tanner gently shook her shoulders. “Jess, look at me.” Her brown eyes met his, but he saw something besides panic and fear. Empathy? Compassion? Two emotions he didn’t want or need. “Answer me, Jess. Does anyone else live here?”

  She shook her head. “He has a cleaning crew once a week but they were here yesterday.”

  “Any idea when he’ll come back here?”

  “Probably not until late tomorrow at the earliest. Or maybe not for a day or two. He skips between all his houses whenever he wants. Especially lately.”

  Laten’t have lside and tomorrow still gave them plenty of time for what Tanner had in mind. It took him and Jess about fifteen minutes—and more blood spilled than he would’ve liked—but they got both men into the wine cellar below the house. He gagged them, tied them up and left them for the next person who got thirsty and wanted wine.

  Taking her arm, he led her out of the house, checking the yard before he continued. “If you’re keeping track it might make you feel better knowing you weren’t the only one shot tonight.”

  “I’m n-not and it doesn’t.” Her voice shook and she looked damn pale in the moonlight. Her eyes had that extra bright glaze that screamed freaked out.

  Tanner tossed Jess his keys. She fumbled before catching them. Maybe if he forced her, she might snap out of her little trance. Not that he could blame her for her current state of mind. Tonight’s roller coaster had been one big drop and turn after another. “You okay driving?” he asked.

  She swallowed. “I can’t. I n-need a minute.”

  Tanner gripped her upper arm, forced her to look up at him. “You did great in there, Jess. Really stellar. But don’t fade on me now. We need to get out of here ASAP. Before anyone else shows up. Do you understand me?”

  She nodded then glanced at his side. “We need to get you to a doctor.”

  Did she care or was she trying to find another way to get rid of him?

  Tanner didn’t want to agree with her, but she was right. He felt the blood dripping into the waistband of his jeans. But he couldn’t go to just any doctor. Couldn’t walk into a hospital without answering questions or without the cops being called. He ushered Jess to the driver’s side and urged her in the seat before crossing to the passenger side and sitting down, taking a deep breath as pain exploded in his side.

  Oh, yeah, getting shot sucked.

  He reached into the duffle bag at his feet and came up with a ratty piece of paper with a phone number and address. He double checked the numbers and handed it to Jess. “Go here,” he told her.

  Jess scanned the paper, cranked the engine and made a U-turn. “I can get us headed in the right direction, but you need to plug the address in my phone’s GPS to find it.”

  Tanner had purchased a new Thomas Guide and had practically memorized the damn thing to be familiar with Hollywood and Burbank. Having been in prison for so long made him woefully outdated with high tech equipment, including Jess’s phone. He’d wanted to bag Juneau and it took a ton of planning. Figuring out how to get on the studio lot, making sure Juneau would be on the stage… He’d planned everything to the detail. But he hadn’t counted on missing his target, getting involved with Jess, taking this side trip or taking a bullet. Shit. He pulled out the cell phone wedged in his back pocket and called the number he’d memorized. He could navigate as soon as he made this call.

  “This better be good, vato. It’s after midnight.” The man sounded just like his old cellmate. frustrationatayto

  “Victor, I’m a friend of Chino’s. He told me I could call if I ran into some trouble.” Tanner waited for the man to make the connection, listened to sheets rustling on the other end of the phone. Moonlight lit the Pacific Ocean and waves crashed silver and black onto the beach to his right. Under normal conditions he might’ve stopped to enjoy the space, the freedom, but right now his side throbbed with a different need. Maybe one day he’d come back. If he didn’t get himself killed before then.

  “Bryant?” Victor asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “You been out barely a month, dude. What kinda trouble you in?”

  “Enough.”

  “You know where I am?”

  “Yeah. Chino gave me the address. It’s going to take me a few minutes to get there.”

  “I’ll be here.” The connection ended and Tanner pocketed his phone, feeling the burn in his side with the movement.

  “Who’s Victor and who’s Chino?” Jess asked as she kept a steady speed down Pacific Coast Highway. She was paying attention now, her senses visibly more alert than they were five minutes ago and relief eased through Tanner.

  He had no reason not to tell her. After saving his life, he owed her the truth. “Chino was my cell mate. Victor is his older brother. A medic.”

  “That’s lucky.”

  “If you can call getting shot lucky.”

  She glared at him before focusing on the road. “I think we’re both lucky we’re not dead.” He liked hearing the snap in her voice. Glancing at him again, she took a steadying breath, as if she needed it for strength. “Why were you in prison?” she asked.

  He gave her credit for the question. If he’d been an ax-wielding murderer, she’d probably rather not know. But he wasn’t and she deserved some reassurance. She was safe with him. Relatively speaking. “Armed robbery and attempted murder.” No need to beat around the bush, since that’s what he’d done time for.

  “You didn’t do it, did you?” Her tone very clearly implied that she believed him innocent, which meant she must have heard his conversation with Juneau.

  “A judge and jur
y said I did. Apparently that’s all that matters.”

  “Not to me,” she said.

  She barely knew him, but her belief planted a foreign seed of warmth in his gut. Just as quickly as it blossomed, Tanner quashed it. Bitterness rose in his chest. He didn’t want her pity. Maybe that’s what spurred her sudden change of heart. Why the hell had she helped him at Juneau’s house when she could’ve been rid of him? Instead she’d wielded a baseball bat and saved his life. He should be grateful, but he was pissed. At himself, her, at Alex and Juneau…even his own father. At frustrationatayto the whole fucking world. He couldn’t face his family and barely tolerated his own reflection. He’d been railroaded seven years ago and all that time in prison had changed him.

  “Don’t think that I’m some good guy because I didn’t commit the crime I was put away for. I’m not innocent. I’m just doing this backwards. I already served the time so I might as well do the crime and Juneau’s going to be the victim. I still need you to get to him. I’m still holding you to our deal.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’m not backing out.” Instead of more questions, she kept a steady pace to Victor’s house in Inglewood. With no traffic and the phone’s GPS, they made great time. Jess pulled up in front of the house, scurried to Tanner’s side and helped him out of the car. His T-shirt and jeans had soaked up a healthy amount of blood, but Tanner had kept pressure on the wound and the bleeding had slowed. Jess wrapped his arm around her shoulders and the contact hit Tanner like a punch. She might be small, but she was strong. Did a damn fine job of taking his weight. Her back and shoulders tensed under his body, but not the way they had earlier. She wasn’t scared of him anymore.