An Unfinished Life

by Wasowski, Mary

  “It looks like it’s from a local place. It came up on the south side, Wallace Street.”

  “Thanks, man. I’m on my way.”

  “Jake! Listen to me.”

  “What?”

  “You’re not thinking clearly right now. Girlfriend? I didn’t even know you had one, and now you’re going to go in unprotected. Jake, you don’t know what you are going to find. Are you just assuming that this is Marino? It could be Jack and his mafia contacts. Let me call some agents in to help you.”

  “No, Duff, they have a code against hurting women. I have a better idea, and now I know exactly who can help me. You keep this off the radar for now, okay?”

  “For how long?”

  “Until I call you back.”

  “Jacob Paulson, you be Goddamned careful! You hear me?”

  “Always.”

  I quickly undressed, put on my bulletproof vest, and then retrieved my other guns. I held my shield in my hand and ran my fingers over my badge number. For so long, this piece of metal made me whole again. It was my saving grace after my football career ended. I was at a crossroads and wasn’t sure what path to take. Joining the force was almost a calling. It pulled me in, and I felt like I was home. I convinced myself it was all I had after Minela’s death, but I was wrong. I had so much more than I ever dreamed was possible. I had a devoted family that had never left my side, when at times I pushed them away. I found something again that I never thought this heart of mine would ever experience again…love. I found it with Zoey. I knew from the moment we met that she was the one that could save me. Now it was my turn to save her. Looking at her picture on my phone, my heart seized with emotion.

  “I’m coming, baby, hang on.”

  I made my way into Jack’s restaurant, looking around for him. I immediately took notice of a guy on crutches off to the side of the bar talking to a few of the customers. He saw me and gestured over to another who stepped out from the corner. Not today, motherfuckers. I gritted my teeth and bypassed him to get to the bar.

  “I need to see, Jack, right now!”

  “He’s not here, pig.”

  I was already over this conversation. I pinned Tommy to the bar and shoved my gun in his mouth with my hand on the safety.

  “Now listen to me very carefully. I need to see Jack, and if you don’t tell me where he is in the next five seconds, then you are not going to be happy with what I do next.”

  “Jacob! What are you doing?” a woman’s voice called out to me, one that was familiar to me.

  By now, most of the customers had run out and only Jack’s guys were surrounding me. I held onto Tommy and then looked over my shoulder to see Jack’s wife, Sara.

  “I’m sorry, Sara, but I need to see Jack.”

  “He’s not here, Jacob. I’m telling you the truth. But he should be back any minute. Please pull back your gun and let Tommy go.”

  I immediately pulled my gun back and shoved him. He stumbled back and fell to the floor, causing him to cry out with his casted knee.

  “You asshole! You did it again.”

  I didn’t pay him any attention, and still holding my gun, I heard a very angry Jack enter the bar.

  “What the hell is going on here? You!” he screamed as he dropped his bags and charged at me like a freaking bull. “What the fuck, Jacob? You come in my bar and pull a gun in front of my wife?”

  Sara placed herself in-between us, stopping Jack with her hands to his chest.

  “Jack, he didn’t hurt me. He came here to talk to you, and Tommy got into it with him. Please, Jack, look at me.”

  He was shooting daggers toward me, and his eyes were enflamed with anger. It took him a minute to hear Sara’s pleas, and then he came back to her. He cupped her face, looked at her, and then pulled her to where she was in back of him, securing her in place. He walked over to Tommy next.

  “Did you not hear me? Were my instructions not clear to you? This is not a fucking war zone, Tommy, but you’ve made it one with your hatred toward him,” Jack said, as he aimed his finger towards me. “You just can’t lose your shit every time a fucking cop walks through my door, and he’s just not anyone, he’s family. Now get the hell out of my sight before I break your other leg.”

  I watched Tommy grab his crutches, scramble to his feet, and leave through the back. Jack let out a deep sigh and then held his head for a moment. Sara wrapped her arms around his waist to calm him down. They walked over to the side, where she whispered something in his ear. He looked more composed after that, and then he finally made his way back to me.

  Jack once again called his staff to offer the patrons a free round on him, and then it was back to business as usual. The chaos that erupted in the bar a few moments earlier was already forgotten by the customers who remained at their tables. Clearly, by looking at Jack, he could quickly regain his control and command the room with a simple look.

  “My office, downstairs,” he said as he walked by me, gesturing me to follow him.

  I stayed behind to make my apologies to Sara, who dismissed me quickly. She patted my shoulder and walked back into her kitchen. Something told me that Sara had seen a lot being married to Jack.

  He tore his coat and scarf off and tossed them both onto a chair. He was clearly pissed off at me for my actions upstairs in his bar. It was the pitbull inside him that once again came at me.

  Running his fingers through his hair, he grabbed a bottle from his desk drawer and slammed two glasses down to his desk.

  “Drink it this time. It looks like you need one.”

  He downed his shot and dared me not to take it. I downed the bourbon, and surprisingly it did not burn my throat. He poured another and pushed it toward me.

  “Got a warrant? Because I believe I asked you to have one the next time you wreak havoc in my bar. What the fuck were you thinking pulling a gun in my place?”

  “Jack, that wasn’t my plan to do that, but if your guy Tommy didn’t come at me again, I wouldn’t have done that. I came here for you because I need your help, and I believe you are the only one that can.”

  “Two days ago, I was your lead suspect in a murder case, and now what…I’m magically cleared? Come on, Jacob, what kind of game are you playing at?”

  “No game, Jack, and for the record you are still a suspect in the Michael St. Clair investigation, but I’m not here as a cop. Please, Jack? I need your help. Don’t make me ask again.”

  He swirled the amber liquid in his glass before downing his third shot.

  “What do you need?”

  I tossed a pair of gloves to Jack to put on, and then I handed him the photos of Zoey.

  “Christ almighty,” he said as he examined the photos. His eyes told me that he knew what he was looking at.

  “He’s taken her.”

  “Marino?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your girl?”

  “Yes.”

  He handed me back the photos and leaned back into his chair.

  “Jacob, before we take this any further, I need you to clarify some things for me, or all bets are off.”

  “Go on.”

  “You can’t choose what side you’re on just to suit your purpose. Two days ago, you came here as a cop, and now, you’re a man in love that will move heaven and earth to find his girl. Even asking his enemy for help to do it.”

  “Jack…”

  “Let me finish. I didn’t kill Michael St. Clair, and whatever evidence you have on me has probably been fabricated by a very clearly deranged Agent Marino. He’s sick and will have no problem going beyond his authority to bring me down. Clearly by these photos, he has now targeted you as well.”

  “Jack, I can’t get into everything I could say right now. I need to find Zoey before he hurts her.”

  “How do you know he hasn’t already?”

  “He wouldn’t risk losing his leverage over me, not until I give him what he wants first.”

  “And what would that be, Jacob…me? That’s not going
to happen.”

  “Jack, help me find Zoey, and once she is safe, we will continue this conversation.”

  He hesitated at first, and then silently nodded in agreement. This case had gone beyond what I ever expected. The players were the same, but the game had definitely changed.

  I was now joining forces with the man I was sent to build a case against. Marino played his card early, and now because I wouldn’t go along with what he had planned for Jack, he snapped and kidnapped Zoey.

  I knew that once we walked out this door, there would be no coming back to where my life was yesterday. I was quite possibly making a career-ending decision by trusting Jack, but I had no choice.

  Zoey had been taken. My girl was in danger. I was not going to allow history to repeat itself twice in one lifetime.

  Before leaving the bar, I called Max and filled him in on everything that had gone down the last hour. He was giving me the lecture about Jacob and to watch my back, but after what we talked about in my office, I believed I could trust Jacob to honor our agreement. Max wanted to inform Dominick of what was about to go down, but I wasn’t in any position to order Max not to. I understood his loyalties were divided between me and his pledged allegiance to the family. I just wanted him to assure Dominick that I had the situation under control, and I would meet with him as soon as I could.

  Max called me back and told me that I wouldn’t be going in alone. Dominick refused to play nice, especially now, knowing that I was partnering with the FBI, so to speak. He ordered Max and members from his crew to cover me if it deemed necessary. Most of the time Dominick was a prick, and at times resented the hell out of me, but he would never let me fall if he could prevent it.

  I could handle myself against Dante. It was Jacob who I worried for. He was stepping outside of himself and getting angrier by the minute. He’d been here before, and now his limits were being tested once more.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket, probably Max telling me everything was in place. I hit the button on my dash, and he was now on speaker.

  “Hey, Max, I’m about twenty minutes out.”

  “That’s good, Jack, really good. Just enough time for what I have planned for Sleeping Beauty tied to my bed.”

  Motherfucker! It was Marino!

  Jacob turned red and was gripping my dashboard with such force, I heard a crackling sound. I raised my hand to silence him.

  “Hello, Agent Paulson. Did you miss me? You’re too quiet. Our usual conversations are always so entertaining to have. Maybe it’s because you haven’t gotten laid in a while. But no worries, Paulson, and I have taken really good care of your girl. She can be quite loud when she wants to be.”

  “You sick, motherfucker! I am going to kill you! If you hurt one hair on her head, I’m going to rip your throat out!”

  “Well, which is it? Are you going to rip my throat out? Or kill me? It didn’t have to be this way, Jacob. Don’t say I didn’t give you every opportunity to take down the very man you are now trusting to help you. It’s her funeral.”

  The line went dead, and so did Jacob. He screamed at me to pull the car over. He jumped out and began vomiting all over the side of the road. The screams coming from deep inside of him were his rage and his desire to kill Marino. Every man could be pushed to his limits, and Jacob Paulson was no different than the rest of us.

  “Drive,” he commanded.

  “Jacob, he’s trying to get a rise out of you, and you’ve played right into his hands. We are almost there. You must keep yourself in check. Stay focused on rescuing Zoey. That’s all you need to do. We don’t know what we are going to find once we enter that building. He’s crazed, but he is not too delusional to not have a back-up plan, so be careful.”

  “Jack, whatever happens in there, he’s mine. Do you understand me?”

  “More than you will ever know.”

  I parked in the same location where Max and I were last time. I scanned my eyes around to the surrounding buildings and suspected where Max and his guys would be.

  Jacob was armed and ready to take Marino out. I was carrying, but nothing compared to what Jacob had. He looked as if he was going to war. He probably was already there in his mind and heart.

  It felt like deja vu all over again. Another Marino was behind the door of apartment 4G, only I would be the one to break down the door this time around. Jacob had secured himself on the adjoining fire escape, where he could charge in when the time was right.

  I slowly walked down the hallway that would bring me face-to-face with Dante.

  “Okay, coward, I’m here! Now show yourself.”

  No sound came from the inside of the apartment. I opened the door slightly, and immediately the mattress came into view. And just like he said, Zoey was tied down on it. She was on her back with ropes going across her nearly naked body. She only had a thin sheath covering her. Her eyes were covered, and tape was over her mouth.

  Jacob is totally gonna kill him. He’s so dead.

  Looking at this poor girl brought me back to my conversation with Dominick: “We don’t hurt women. Not ever!”

  I knew at that moment that I had to save her and take my chances walking into this trap he had set for me. There weren’t too many places to hide in this place. I pulled out my gun and broke down the doors. I checked the closet, it was empty. The bathroom was also clear. Where the hell was he hiding?

  I was about to go to Zoey when Jacob crashed through the window, making me pull my gun on him. He had one in each hand and was ready to shoot.

  “Jacob! It’s me, Jack. He’s not here. Marino is gone.”

  His eyes were glazed over, almost catatonic. I stepped over to him, lowered his hands, and forced him to look at me.

  “Jacob…” I said again, and he was back in the room with me. The killer in him calmed down.

  He rushed over to Zoey and began cutting the ropes. I tried as gently as I could to remove the tape from her mouth without hurting her. I felt her wrists. Her pulse was weak, but she was alive. Her wrists and ankles were raw and sliced open. She had a bruise on the side of her cheek and scratches along her arm. But this girl was a fighter, just like my Nickel.

  “Zoey, baby, can you hear me?” He was crying over her still body.

  No response. He picked her up and held her close to his chest, begging her to wake up.

  “We have to get out of here, Jack. I need to get Zoey to a hospital.”

  “Any sign of Marino?” I asked.

  “No, I checked the entire fourth floor. He’s running again.”

  “We will get him, Jacob. I swear it on my life.”

  “Yeah, Jack, that makes two of us.”

  He carried her ever so gently down all four flights of stairs. I was looking all around for any sign of Marino, but the area was vacant with no one around. Jacob climbed in the back of my car with Zoey still in his arms, while I drove us to the nearest hospital. I called Max, and he told me that the building was covered. He could see everything from where they were positioned, and there was never a sign of Marino.

  “Where is he then?”

  We were close to Northwestern Memorial, the same hospital I kept bedside vigil with Sara only a short time ago. I hated to go back in there, but I couldn’t just leave Jacob and not know what the night would bring for him or Zoey.

  Jacob called ahead and demanded we be met with a trauma team at the emergency room doors. He fired off a list of orders to whoever was on the other end of his call. He was in full police mode now. His phone rang again. All I heard him say was that he had her. I pulled up in front, and a team rushed the car with a stretcher to assess Zoey’s condition. Jacob ran alongside her as they got further into the hospital.

  Max pulled up not a minute later. He looked beside himself.

  “What the fuck Jack? Where is this guy? We had the building surrounded.”

  He kicked the ground, and then it hit me.

  “He wanted me there, but not to find him, but to distract me.”

  �
��What are you saying, Jack?”

  “He’s playing us, Max, has been all along. He knew that once Jacob made contact with me, I would begin to piece it all together. He had no way of knowing what Jacob would or wouldn’t say to me, so he probably counted on Jacob revealing his duplicitous side, and change direction. It was clear he had taken Zoey, but he only brought her there today to the apartment. She was being held somewhere else until he made the call to me today. Something didn’t seem right when we were first in the apartment. It appeared to be staged to look as if someone was hiding out there, but he wasn’t.”

  “Why would he go through all of this trouble of snatching this girl, and then disappear? Don’t you think he would want to settle the score with you once and for all, like an eye for an eye?”

  An eye for an eye? I repeated over and over in my head until it became clear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end again. No. He wouldn’t.

  “We have to go, Max, right now!”

  I jumped into my car and made my way to my bar with Max close behind me. I quickly called Sara, and got her voicemail. No one was picking up at the restaurant either.

  “Where the hell is everybody?”

  I banged my fist on the steering wheel. I called again and again, and no answer. By the time I got to the restaurant, the bar was closed. Something was very wrong. Sara wouldn’t have closed this early, unless she was forced to.

  “Jack, what’s going on? Why is the place shut down?”

  “Something is wrong, Max. No one is answering the bar line, or their cell phones.”

  “You don’t think that crazy fuck came here now? Do you?”

  “That’s exactly what I think. He’s in there waiting for me, and holding my Sara and restaurant hostage.”

  “Jack, you have one piece on you, and so do I. It’s two against one. We can take him.”

  “No, Max. We have to be smart about this. I can access the camera feed from my phone. If I can see where he is inside, then maybe I can get a jump on him while you grab Sara.”

  I opened up the app on my phone to view the live feed from all the cameras that cover the bar, dining room, kitchen, and corridors. Everything looked in order with no sign of Marino…or Sara. Dammit! The place was empty, which could only mean one thing: he was upstairs in my house…with my wife.