by Lolah Lace
Did Kari call my sister? I scanned the area. Karen and her husband Robert hadn’t arrived. Maybe they had. Maybe RJ was dead and they were identifying his body. Why was Deja covered in blood? Why was she so disheveled? Why was her face so distraught? As soon as she saw me barreling toward her she leapt from her seat and flew into my arms.
All the officers took notice. I had questions but I also had my composure. I wasn’t going to break down, not like when my mom died. I was different now, stronger.
Deja was obviously here alone. She was a kid. I was a man. I could breakdown later. Now was not the time. Deja was sobbing into my chest and as much as I wanted to pull her away from me and shake some answers from her I just stood there and held her.
An officer was standing behind her. My eyes meet his. He was a stoned faced black man with a slight beard and the same height as me. He was younger than me but not by much. His dark eyes gave me no clues as to RJ’s condition.
“Are you Mr. Palazzo?” His deep voice asked.
I heard his words but it took a minute for me to form an audible reply. He meant my brother-in-law.
“No, I’m Mason Rizza. I’m RJ’s uncle.”
Without any coaxing I moved Deja back to the chair she occupied before I arrived. The other officers parted as Deja and I moved. She sat down and I noticed she had dead eyes. The blood made her look like she was dressed as a zombie for a macabre Halloween party or an extra in The Walking Dead.
“What happened?” I addressed the officer who had followed us and was eager to speak to me.
“I’m Officer Montgomery with the Naperton Police Department. Mr. Rizza your nephew was shot tonight.”
“Shot?” I questioned the officer’s words because they seemed so foreign to me. “I think he went to a movie.” Is that what RJ told me?
“Sir he was hit with a stray bullet. His girlfriend and some other on-scene witnesses at the movie theater said an altercation broke out inside the theater and your nephew was hit with bullets that were intended for another person in the theater.”
“Bullets?” More than one? He didn’t respond even though I had posed it as a question. “Is he alive?”
“He was a live when he arrived. Sir, he is in surgery. I don’t have any further information but one other person was shot in the theater. The alleged perpetuator has been apprehended and is in custody at this time.”
“How long has my nephew been in surgery?”
“Not long. He arrived here just minutes ago. There were a lot of patrons in the theater and there was a quick response by all emergency response teams.”
“He was alive when he got here?” I needed clarity.
“Yes sir.”
Deja appeared from the side of our two-man conversation. “Mason he was alive, he was. He was talking to me but he passed out in the ambulance. I put my jacket in the hole.”
The hole? “What?”
“I was trying to stop the bleeding but there was so much blood. I don’t. I don’t. I, I.”
I noticed my sister and her husband rush through the automatic emergency room doors as they parted. I needed more information.
Deja would be a doctor like her father. I know that much about her. I decided to pose my next question to her instead of Officer Montgomery. “Deja where was RJ shot?”
“In his neck and in his chest.” Her voice crumbled as the words hurriedly escaped her lips. Those words broke a huge gaping hole in the brick wall I forged around my composure. What the fuck? I latched onto another area of the wall I built that was still intact. Neck and chest. Neck and chest. Neck and chest. Karen and Robert are here. Mason, calm the fuck down. I had to tell myself to calm, the fuck, down.
The anxiety was inscribed all over my sister’s face. I wished I had something to say that would ease her fear. I wished this wasn’t really happening.
An image of little RJ with a runny nose and loaded diaper flashed in my mind. He was the first kid in our family. There was absolutely no way his short life could end tonight. He was still a kid to me.
Karen’s eyes shifted from me to all the blood that was smeared across Deja’s shirt and jeans. I wished she could have changed into something else. Her bloody clothes conveyed the severity of RJ’s condition. Karen’s head must be swirling just as mine had before I got the little bit of information Officer Montgomery shared with me. Robert’s eyes glanced quickly from Deja to me.
I can imagine how they felt. I had felt that same shock and dismay when I entered this place that reminds me of death and disaster.
Karen went straight to me ignoring bloody Deja and the officer.
“Mason.”
“Karen he’s in surgery.” I pushed the words out as gracefully as I could. In a second I noticed Masonia trailing many steps behind her parents. My niece was here. I wondered why I hadn’t even noticed her. Karen’s solemn face had blocked out everything else and overpowered me. My niece was white as a ghost.
As much as I wanted to look at her I don’t think I can bring myself to acknowledge her presence. If she breaks I will surely break with her. If something ever happened to my sister it would devastate me. Karen is like a second mother to me. I have a full understanding of the love shared between a brother and sister.
Masonia is named after me. My sister loved me enough to name her kid after me. I am too overwhelmed by this. I needed to instantly build another layer of brick around my heart. That’s just what I did. That imaginary concrete barrier was a godsend.
“He’s in surgery.” Karen repeated as she turned to her husband who was standing behind her. Masonia inched closer to us. Her eyes were on Deja’s bloody clothing. I took a step toward my niece. Now I had the strength to embrace her. Her body needed a hug. Mine did too.
As I moved toward her I saw her eyes flicker and roll back in her head. I moved fast but I was too late. Masonia fainted. Her small body went limp and crumpled to the floor like she had been thrown from a moving vehicle. Her father and I made it to her at the same time. We were both on our knees on either side of her. He had her head cradled in the crook of his arm.
I wanted to shake her but she was so small and fragile. “Sonia, Sonia wake up Sonia!”
There was chaos all around me. I could hear my sister screaming.
Officer Montgomery had crouched to his knees and I think he was checking for a pulse.
The commotion was surreal as the nurses came into our huddle and took over completely. One of the nurses reached into her scrubs pocket and retrieved an ammonia inhalant. The nurse cracked it under my nieces nose and jolted her back into consciousness.
Tears leaked from the corners of Sonia’s eyes as she stared into her father’s face.
“Dad, what happened?” Sonia asked as she came to and noticed her surroundings.
After Sonia was brought to her feet she was directed to a chair. Time moved in slow motion and we never got an update on my nephew’s condition. We all were together but in our own little bubble.
Just like before, eventually two doctors made there way toward us and before they could say a word I knew RJ had suffered the same fate as my mother.
My life was going well. I had everything I wanted but these two doctors had the words that would devastate my family. I wanted to run but I stood there and braced myself for the truth.
RJ is dead?
Authors Note
I finished the last book in the Balls To The Walls Erotica Series. It feels good to put Mason and Kari to bed. This book was similar to the last one in that there was a lot of dialogue. What made this installment unique was that this was the first time we got a glimpse at the inner workings of the Jack Unger character. I felt the need to change up and also give the readers that were rooting for Jack a view into his personality. Plus Jack was an integral part of the storyline so I wanted him to grace a cover and maybe throw a few folks off balance.
I know. I know. I know. Why end it like this? I couldn’t help myself. I love cliffhangers and who knows in six months I may have
more ideas centered around the Palazzo family and Deja. For future reference, cliffhangers are my style. I end my books in cliffhangers. So people dislike this but this is how I create. Life never needs and my books have the possibility of going on.
Now I need a to start working on something else. I love all the readers who supported my works and my journey into this new genre. Sometimes I could have a bad day, I mean a terrible day and I would get a good review or a Facebook post and it would just help take my mind off of negative or tragic things. So thank you so much for your support. It means more than you know.
Now what’s next for me? I’m going to write two books in my other pen name. I will also work on one of the many books I started and never finished. I will also get a proofreader, editor and a beta reader for my next books before I make them available to the public. I’m in dire need of a beta reader and a proofreader. So I will make that happen. I was an unable to shop for an editor for the Balls To The Walls Series because of unrealistic time constraints. I have learned from my mistakes. I will probably get another IR out somewhere in between the books I have planned. Thanks again for your support.
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Balls To The Walls books by Lolah Lace
Let’s Play Ball (Book One)
Line Of Scrimmage (Book Two)
Full Court Press (Book Three)
Free Agent (Book 3.5)
Bases Loaded (Book Four)
Flag On The Play (Book Five)
Out Of Bounds (Book Six)
Stand Alone books by Lolah Lace
