Mine to Protect

by Sarah J. Brooks

  I tried not to look at Roberto because I didn’t want to see that look of hatred that he had had on his face during the trial. I still had no idea why he was so angry with me, but it had to be a mistake. I hadn’t done anything to hurt him.

  My whole body shook with fear. I couldn’t get my mind off of why Roberto had looked at me with such anger. I would never purposely hurt someone and I hated that Roberto thought bad about me, I wanted to make him see that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt his case.

  I sat down next to Ryan, so I was far away from Roberto as I could comfortably get. I reached my hand under the table and Ryan grabbed a hold of it and squeezed it. It comforted me instantly to have him holding onto me.

  “Would you like to tell me what the fuck happened?” Roberto said calmly as he looked at me.

  I had no idea what he was talking about. My heart continued to beat rapidly as I searched my mind for any memory of what I could have done to piss Roberto off so badly.

  “What would you like to know that I can answer,” I said calmly.

  Roberto stood up quickly and slammed his fists onto the table. The quick movement startled me and I felt my heart rate increase even more than it already was. Pretty much anytime I was around Roberto my heart was pounding a million beats a minute; the man scared me.

  I jumped back from the table, but Ryan stayed put. Ryan had a calmness about him that I couldn’t understand. He didn’t seem afraid of Roberto at all. I admired the level of calmness that Ryan was able to keep. I certainly didn’t feel that calm with the anger that Roberto had on display.

  “Why the fuck was I arrested for killing that woman?”

  Oh shit, how was I supposed to know? I assumed he was arrested because they thought he did it. Why else would they arrest anyone? But obviously it would be a bad idea to say something like that to Roberto.

  “Obviously it was a mistake, we are glad they released you,” Ryan jumped in to try and calm Roberto.

  “I shouldn’t have ever left this house. If you two were the worst lawyers in the world, you would have stopped them at the door and told them you would bring me in for questioning. I didn’t need to be arrested. That ruins our case for re-trial.”

  I could practically see the steam billowing out of his ears and knew that nothing I said would have any impact on him. I decided to just sit and I stayed quiet. The best defense was to just try and let Roberto calm down from his anger. Obviously I had not been involved in this at all.

  “Well maybe you shouldn’t have murdered that woman,” Ryan said.

  My eyes got wide and I looked back and forth between Roberto and Ryan. Why would Ryan say that! Why would he purposely get Roberto angry? Oh no, I knew something bad was about to happen.

  Roberto’s hand left the table and he swung at Ryan’s head. Ryan was prepared and stood up quickly to protect himself. The two men moved off toward the fireplace as they took swings at each other and continued to yell.

  I couldn’t understand everything that was said, but the one thing that I clearly understood was that Roberto wanted to kill Ryan.

  “If you would have just followed the plan you wouldn’t be in this shit,” Ryan yelled as he dodged a fist from Roberto.

  “If you weren’t always out for yourself I wouldn’t have to worry about myself all the time,” Roberto answered.

  The two men continued their fight and I just stood near the door. I wanted to run for help, but didn’t know if Roberto would try and kill Ryan if the police were called to the house again.

  “Your little girlfriend told Mrs. Anderson not to testify and to go into hiding. She wasn’t going to show up to court at all.”

  “That isn’t true! I never said such a thing,” I yelled from over by the door.

  Roberto turned his attention from Ryan and walked straight toward me. My heart sank and I knew that I should run, but my feet just wouldn’t cooperate. I stood there stunned and unable to move as Roberto closed in on me.

  Ryan

  Everything was going to shit and I couldn’t get control over it. The whole plan had slowly crumbled and I didn’t know if I would be able to get things back on tract. Jennifer had ruined everything.

  When Roberto stopped fighting with me and walked over to Jennifer I had hoped he would just yell at her. Unfortunately, deep down I knew something much worse was about to happen.

  Jennifer was so sweet and innocent. I shouldn’t have involved her so much in this case, but if something went wrong and I had to take the blame; I didn’t want to do it alone.

  I thought I could have manipulated her through our sexual relationship, but she was too strong willed for many things. She was also much smarter than I had original hoped she would be. With her on our side I really thought we could have gotten Roberto released.

  But then again, it wasn’t her fault that Roberto couldn’t stop killing off his witnesses. He had always had that problem. Never any patience. He always wanted to handle things his way and he never trusted that I knew more than him when it came to a court case.

  “Little girl, don’t pretend that you didn’t tip that woman off. I heard you cover up your microphone and whisper something to the woman.”

  I knew Jennifer had not done such a thing, it was that I had told Mrs. Anderson to flee. But I couldn’t take the blame. It had to look like someone else was sabotaging his case, not me. I needed to look like the one who wanted to protect him.

  “I did not,” Jennifer yelled at Roberto.

  Then it happened. My worst fear. Roberto lost his temper.

  His hand reached up and squeezed around her neck. I saw the fear instantaneously fill her eyes.

  Roberto pinned her up against the wall and held her there tight. I thought for sure he was going to kill her.

  “Stop! Take your hands off of her,” I yelled as I made my way quickly over to the pair.

  “Get away from me Ryan, this little bitch has been fucking everything up since you met her. She needs to get out of this and you know I can’t let her go.”

  I knew he would never let Jennifer live, not after all the information she knew. I had to figure out a way to stop him.

  “Just let her go so we can talk about this.”

  “Go upstairs Ryan, you don’t want to be here for this,” Roberto said as he continued to hold onto Jennifer.

  The fear in her eyes was too much for me. I couldn’t look at her. I had to just keep looking at Roberto and try to calm him down.

  Then it happened. I saw the flash of a metal object as Roberto pulled something out of his pocket.

  It was a knife.

  “Stop Dad! Don’t do it!”

  Chapter 28

  Ryan

  The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. I knew that Roberto had the capability of killing someone, I knew it very well. There was no way I would let him hurt Jennifer. I didn’t regret letting out my secret. My only regret was how Jennifer would forever look at me as the evil spawn of Roberto Calvertino.

  I saw the look on her face when I called Roberto my father. She was confused, but the fear from his strangling her diminished as Roberto let go of his grip around her neck. I don’t know why I said what I did. I honestly had not considered Roberto my Dad in many years. His evil was like something that no one else could even imagine. It was beyond what any judge or prosecutor thought they knew. And I was tethered to his evil with no real way to get away from it. Yes, I wanted away from him. But your father had a power over you that no one else did. Especially when your father was Roberto Calvertino.

  “Your Dad?” Jennifer said as she looked over at me.

  Roberto just stormed away from the both of us and into his room. I could hear him throwing things and shouting, but at least he was in a different room. I still kept a vigilant eye on his room because I knew he couldn’t be trusted at all.

  I grabbed a hold of Jennifer and held onto her. I just needed to comfort her, to let her know everything would be alright. My life had literally changed since meet
ing her. I had gone from just wanting to fuck her sweet body, to actually enjoying my time around her.

  My life had gotten so much more complex now that I cared about Jennifer. I couldn’t let Roberto control that part of my life. He might control me in the courtroom, but I needed to control my time with Jennifer.

  “Let go of me,” she said and she pushed herself away from me.

  I looked into her eyes and saw a look that I was all too familiar with. It was a look of fear. Anytime someone found out that Roberto was my father they became afraid of me. Even if I had never done a thing to cause fear in them, simply being related to Roberto was too much for people. It was why I held the secret so closely and never wanted to reveal it to anyone.

  “Jennifer, it’s alright. I hate him just as much as you do. I’m sorry I lied. I don’t tell anyone I’m related to him.”

  She stood there and looked at me with disgust. My stomach sank as I felt just as disgusting as she thought I was. I knew this routine well, but I wasn’t about to let Jennifer run off without a fight. I wanted to keep her and I was going to do my damnedest to ensure she got over her anger and came back to me.

  For years, I had lived with Roberto as my father. I had watched all the horrible things he did to get his way in the world. I fought hard to get away from that life and thought law school was my saving grace. Aligning myself with the law would surely push my father away, or at least I had hoped. For a long time it did, until he got it into his head that he could get a new trial.

  For years he hounded me to find a loophole to get the new trial. I had to oblige him, but I honestly didn’t expect the process would get this far. I didn’t think they would let him out during his new trial and I certainly hadn’t expected that he would start killing off witnesses.

  He used my position to manipulate so much of my life. I truly thought this was my opportunity to finish him off. To make it clear all the horrible things he had done. My plan was only partially in motion and I had to keep Jennifer near me until she could see the final result. Surely when she saw what my final plan was, then she would forgive me. She had to.

  I had pushed my way throughout life to get what I wanted from women. I always got what I wanted, but finally I wanted someone that I was afraid I wouldn’t get. Jennifer was delicate and sweet, she didn’t want to be part of this illicit world anymore. She wanted out and I could see it in her eyes.

  “Ryan, he’s your Dad?” She said with tears in her eyes.

  I reached for her, but she pulled away. She denied me the opportunity to comfort her in any way. Her eyes searched mine for some sort of better answer, but she knew deep down I couldn’t give it to her. There was nothing else I could do at this point.

  “Yes, but Jennifer…” I reached for her and she pulled away again. “I’m still the person you know. It’s still me. I still care about you and want you to stay. Please don’t go.”

  “I can’t. I don’t trust either of you. I can’t stay.”

  Jennifer stood near the door and we both turned as Roberto came out of his room. He flung his hands around in anger and knocked over a lamp. As he moved closer to Jennifer and I, I shielded her and made sure he couldn’t come close enough to hurt her.

  “You are such an inadequate disappointment, Ryan. You had one job. To get me off on charges that there was minimal evidence. Even your little slut with no law degree could have done the job right. Now look at the mess we are in.”

  “You can’t get off on charges when you’re a murderer!” Jennifer yelled at Roberto.

  “Shut up slut.”

  This was the father I knew. The angry drunk who berated everyone around him and never took ownership of the destruction he caused in his life. This was the man I hated and feared.

  “You killed the star witness for our side. Your lack of patients is what ruined this!”

  “I didn’t kill that old hag.”

  “So you didn’t have a conversation with Gino and tell him you didn’t trust her?” I knew the truth. I wasn’t a teenager anymore.

  “Oh, who gives a fuck if she’s dead? She was flipping back and forth between helping and hurting the case anyways,” Roberto said as he finally stepped back away from Jennifer and I. “If you had spent more time on my case and less time with your cock in this little slut, then you wouldn’t be in this situation. If I go back to jail I’ll send Gino after you and this little slut and have you both killed.”

  “That’s my Dad Jennifer; see why I love him so much. What a great man to look up to.”

  Jennifer opened the door and fled out of my house, I couldn’t blame her. Even I wanted to leave. My feelings for my father were as close to hatred as possible and his ability to drive my anger overwhelmed the self-control that I thought I had.

  I took a swing at him, but he pushed my arm away. His hand stayed latched onto my forearm as he glared into my eyes.

  “You win this case, or I’ll make you pay Ryan. You know I can destroy you.”

  “I was trying to win the case until you started sabotaging everything,” I yelled at my father.

  Our whole relationship had been him telling me what to do and me following directions. Even when I was younger, I had followed my father’s instructions without question. He was not only my father but also the most powerful man I knew. I had seen what he did to people who crossed him and I knew better than to do that to him.

  I needed him to calm down. I didn’t want my father to fire me and go with another lawyer. For my plan to work, I had to stay being his lawyer. Even if I hated him.

  “I’m sorry Dad. I am doing my best. But Jennifer was a big help on this case. Don’t be an ass to her.”

  “Ah she does have a great ass.”

  I tried not to throw up in my mouth as I remembered back to the threesome we had. It was not something that I wanted to remember.

  Jennifer

  I ran. That was the only thing I could do. My mind swirled with all the information I had just received. I just couldn’t believe that Roberto was Ryan’s father. I didn’t trust Ryan and certainly didn’t trust Roberto.

  What had happened?

  Only a few short months ago I was a normal 21-year-old getting ready to start law school. Now I was mixed up in the craziest threesome I could have ever imagined. Not only was I participating in defending a known killer, but I had slept with him and his son. I felt nauseous.

  My brain swirled with everything that had gone on for the last few months. I ran. I ran away from Ryan and his father, I ran away from everything. I needed to think. I needed to get my head straight. I didn’t stop to get a cab or hop on the subway. I just needed to keep moving.

  It had taken me most of the day before I arrived back at my apartment and I was exhausted. I couldn’t even think anymore because my brain swirled with everything I knew about Ryan and Roberto.

  Things started to make much more sense. That partner of Ryan’s who had mysteriously died, the hold that Roberto had over Ryan, it all started to come together. Ryan King was a man who had tried to forget about his past and move forward with a new persona, but his father just wouldn’t allow it.

  The confident and cocky man that I knew wasn’t the same when he was with Roberto. His confidence always seemed shaken by that man and now it started to make sense. I replayed the last few weeks in my head and tried to make sense of everything. As I did, my anger toward Ryan built up higher and higher.

  Why wouldn’t he have just told me about all this? It would have been much easier to deal with if I had known it in the beginning. I certainly wouldn’t have kept fucking him though. But I supposed that was exactly why Ryan didn’t tell people the truth.

  I felt the pulse in my neck as it throbbed and I wanted to take back everything that I had done with Ryan. I remembered the club and our sex in the back room. I remembered his office conference table. My mind swirled when I thought back to that night when I had taken on both Ryan and Robert. I couldn’t think about it another moment.

  Ryan and I had
a physical connection that was beyond that of any other guy I had been with. There was a passion between us a connection like that of two lost souls. It was so powerful that I felt it that night in the nightclub. Now it made sense. Ryan was alone in this world, just like I was. He didn’t have a loving family to support and care about him. He had to do life all on his own.

  I needed to sleep and my mind just wouldn’t stop racing. I took a sleeping pill and then took a warm shower. By the time, I finished my shower I was totally relaxed and fell asleep without a thought of Ryan or Roberto in my mind.

  Chapter 29

  Jennifer

  My body desperately needed the long night of sleep that I finally got. It was like I had been deprived of a good night sleep for weeks. As I woke up on the day of the hearing, I still pondered whether I should show up in court or not. For Ryan I wanted to be there, my anger had subsided a bit and I wanted to be there to support him. But I didn’t want to be anywhere near Roberto.

  I certainly didn’t want to be there and sit next to that killer. It was the last thing I could think of that I would want to do with my day, but I did want to be a lawyer. Not showing up for a case I had worked on for weeks was really unprofessional. There was so much more to it than that, though, there were so many emotions going through my body.

  I continued to ponder whether I should go to the courtroom or not and I took so long thinking about it that the hearing had started already when I arrived. I looked into the courtroom and saw Ryan and Roberto and I couldn’t bring myself to walk in the door. I couldn’t stand the thought of having to sit in between the two of them. Instead, I went back to my apartment and put on CourtTV and watched the proceedings live as they happened.

  The hearing started with the prosecutor discussing all the crimes that Roberto Calvertino had been convicted of in the first trial. The nicely dressed attorney went on to say that this hearing was only being conducted as a formality and nothing should change with the verdict.