by Brooks,Anna
“You can’t squish it with your sock!”
“Jesus fuck,” I mutter. “What would you like me to squish it with, baby?”
She slides back down in the tub. “A shoe. Or a magazine or something. Not your sock. That’s almost worse than a tissue.”
Looking around the room, I find an empty toothpaste box. I grab it and hold it up with a quirk of my eyebrow, silently asking her if this is an acceptable weapon for killing the damn spider.
She nods and looks away when I dump the thing out of the cup. I squish it with the cardboard, and then scoop it up with the tissue I grabbed earlier to flush it down the toilet.
“Thank you.” She smiles.
“You’re welcome, baby.”
She slides further into the water, and just as I’m about to close the door behind me, I hear her say, “Don’t know how I managed before him.”
* * *
I wake up because something isn’t right. Jessa sleeps peacefully next to me. Hell, I’ve slept better than I ever have in my entire life the past few weeks we’ve been here.
A noise from outside puts me on high alert, and I reach over and grab one of my guns from the nightstand, noticing the clock reads 4:27 a.m.
“Jessa, baby. Wake up.” I shake her a little while I pull on a pair of jeans over my underwear. “Wake up.”
She rolls over, and the fuckin’ beautiful smile she has on her face wrecks me. “Again?” She thinks I’m waking her up to make love to her again … Hell, I wish it were for that reason.
“Someone’s outside.”
She sits up and starts frantically looking around for something. “What?”
“Remember where the secret room is in the closet?”
“Yes.”
“Go there and don’t come out.”
I have to help her out of bed because she is so shaky, but a car door slams outside, and she screams.
“Shh, quiet, baby. It’ll be okay.” With a hand on her back, I give her a small shove in the direction of the closet with the attached safe room. Once I hear the lock click after she’s crawled inside, I close the bedroom door behind me and tiptoe downstairs.
Footsteps pound up the front porch steps. Either the fuckin’ idiot’s being loud on purpose to distract me, or he’s really a goddamned idiot.
I take up a post in the living room and train my gun on the front door. In order to hear more clearly, I close my eyes. Metal. Keys or a lock pick. Then the turn of a doorknob. As soon as the alarm beeps, I turn the safety off, take a breath, and then open my eyes.
“Whoa, it’s just me, man.” Neil holds a hand up and punches in the codes for the alarm.
“Shit! What the hell?” I tuck the gun back into the waistband of my jeans after putting the safety on. “You couldn’t give me a fuckin’ heads-up?”
I jog back upstairs and scan my fingerprint to open the door where Jessa is. She’s huddled in a ball in the corner, rocking back and forth. When she sees me, she scrambles to her feet and clings to me, her tears landing on my exposed skin.
“It’s just Neil.”
“Wh-what?”
“Neil. Honey, it’s just Neil. You’re okay.”
She abruptly steps back from me and wipes her eyes then tears out of the room. I follow her downstairs and am surprised by what I hear.
“Why would you scare me like that?” She’s yelling at him, and his face is as surprised as mine is. “You should have called. You almost gave me a heart attack!”
“I’m sorry, Jessa. Some things have happened and I—”
“What happened?” I interrupt him.
“We need to sit down.”
Jessa pulls him in for a hug before she goes to the kitchen. “Coffee, Neil?”
“Thanks, yeah. I’ve been up all night.” He follows me to the table, where he sits across from me.
She pops one of those cups into a coffeemaker and pours two glasses of orange juice, setting one in front of me and the other in the empty space next to me where she’ll be sitting.
“Here.” Neil tosses a bag on the table. “Donuts.”
“Did you get my favorite kind?” Jessa reaches over and tears through it until she pulls out a twisted cinnamon one. “Yes! Thanks, Neil.”
“No problem. Got you a plain glazed, man,” he says to me.
“Thanks.” I take it out and eat a bite then cut to the chase. “What do you got?”
He sighs and pulls out a folder from his bag. “Transcripts.”
I open the folder and begin reading the papers. “Thanks, babe,” Neil says to Jessa as she hands him a coffee. I choose to ignore it and continue reading. Mindlessly, I chew on the donut as I’m flipping pages, trying to understand what the hell I’m reading. The words become blurry, and I shake my head to rid it of the fog.
“So,” I begin, “Rico’s the number one, now?”
“Yeah.”
“But wha …” I can’t seem to form the word, and the room becomes blurry. As I look at Neil, it hits me. He raises an eyebrow, and I try to move to kill the piece of shit, but my body is suddenly filled with sand. “Mothafuck …” I trail off. My head starts to hang, and I reach for Jessa to try to shield her, warn her, something.
“Ty?” she asks. “Ty!” She yells my name as I fall to the floor. The room above me spins, and the edges of my vision dance with bright light. Then flashes of dark make me even dizzier. Her beautiful face hovers above mine, and as I’m being pulled under, I tell her, “Run.”
Jessa
“Ty!” I shake him, but he doesn’t move. Why did he tell me to run? What is happening?
I look up at Neil. “Help me.”
“He’ll wake up in a bit.”
“What?” I grab Ty’s hand and hold it against my chest. “Neil, help me!”
“I didn’t want it to be this way.”
The blood in my veins pounds so loud, I can hear it in my ears. “What are you talking about?”
He stands and finally, finally reaches for Ty and removes his gun. When he lifts him up from under his arms, I expect him to drag him to the couch, but instead, he pulls him to the front door.
“Where are you taking him? Is there a hospital around here?”
He doesn’t answer me, and when he reaches his all black SUV outside, he drops Ty to the ground and then opens the back hatch.
“Careful! What are you doing?” I’m so confused right now. “Neil! What are you doing?”
He continues to ignore me and lifts Ty again, puts the top half of his body in the trunk space, then lifts his legs to shove the rest of him in there. He slams the hatch closed and turns to look at me. “Please, just shut the fuck up.”
“What?” I whisper. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
With a heavy sigh, he goes over and opens the back door. “In.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I screech.
He shakes his head and reaches behind him, then points a gun at me. “Get in the fucking car. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
“Neil. Oh, my God. What are you doing?”
He must be on the brink of losing his temper because he grabs me by the upper arm and pushes me inside the SUV. “Sit down and shut the fuck up.” He then slams the door, and I hop in the back by Ty, shielding my stomach to make sure it doesn’t hit anything.
Even though he’s breathing, Ty looks dead. His body is so still, and when I pry open his eyelid, his eyes are rolled back in his head.
“Ty,” I whisper, lying down on his stiff body. He’s normally so warm, so when I rest my cheek on his cool face, it makes me shudder.
“Try anything and I’ll shoot you before you have the chance to make your choice.”
I ignore Neil and cling to Ty. I’m not leaving him. The baby kicks, and I allow my tears to fall on Ty’s chest. His gray t-shirt darkens as my tears pool, and I keep a hand on his pulse. “What did you give him?” I speak up for the first time since Neil took off. I still cannot believe he’s one of the bad guys. He was i
n my house. I considered him a friend—a really good friend.
How could he betray me like this? Betray Ty?
Of course, I’m scared, but I’m also heartbroken for more than one reason. Aside from the nauseous feeling in my gut, I have a bad feeling deep down that whatever this is, isn’t going to end well.
“Just a little sleepy medicine.”
Ty doesn’t even groan the whole way in the car, and it’s been at least a couple of hours. It feels a hell of a lot longer, though. My bladder is stretching so much it’s painful, but I’m afraid to speak up. Every bump is torture, and when Neil turns, I grip Ty to keep him from slamming against the sides of the vehicle.
We finally pull up to a building in the middle of nowhere. If there ever was a cliché for a suspense movie where they take their hostages, this is it. Half the roof is falling off, and the glass from the windows is nonexistent. We drove on a dirt road to get here, so I know we’re too far for me to run and try to get help.
When the door opens, I’m surprised to see a familiar face, aside from Neil. I lean over and vomit, centimeters from his expensive loafers.
“We meet again,” Rico purrs.
“I have to pee.” Fuck the pleasantries; I thought that maybe I could try to talk my way out of this. Thought that maybe wherever he was taking us, I’d be able to escape, but looking into the dark eyes of the man who held me down … I realize if I’m going to die, then hopefully I can do it with a little dignity and not in my own urine.
“I’ll take you. Rico, get him,” Neil states. It pisses me off to no end that he’s so chummy with this fucker.
“No.” I cross my arms. “I’m not leaving Ty.”
Neil rolls his eyes and reaches into the vehicle to grab me. I fight him a little bit, but if I continue to fight him, I’ll pee myself, so I concede. “Fine.” I rip my arm from his grasp. “I can walk. I don’t want you to touch me. I don’t ever want you to touch me again.” Somehow, I manage to storm off without one of them holding me.
When I reach a door, Neil opens it and grabs me by the arm. “This way.”
I try to yank myself from him, but he squeezes my arm tighter this time. “Don’t.”
He shoves me into a bathroom and closes the door. I rub my stomach and look around. Of course, there are no windows. After I relieve myself, I remain seated on the toilet seat and take a second to gather myself. Last time I was in this situation, I panicked and fought. I wasn’t sure if I would be saved. But now, I know I’m not going to be.
I need to be the one to save us. Me, Ty, and our baby. So I have to play it smart. Need to save my energy. Stay calm.
The door is wrenched open, and Neil fills the frame. I look at him. Really look. He used to be attractive. His curly brown hair unique, his bright green eyes friendly and inviting. Now, he just looks like a monster.
“Why are you doing this?” I whisper, really wanting to know but also trying to play on his heartstrings. “I thought you were my friend.”
“Come on.”
“Why, Neil?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Come the fuck on.”
He reaches for me, and I jump up but become dizzy with the quickness of my actions. When Neil reaches for me again, I scream at him, “I said don’t fucking touch me. I hate you. I fucking hate you!”
His jaw clenches, and before I have a chance to defend myself, he backhands me. I gasp and cover my face. Tears leak out of my eyes, and when they hit the cut on my cheek, they burn even further.
“You gonna come with me, or do I gotta teach you another lesson?”
“Fuck you,” I mutter, but I follow him.
The building is dirty and empty except for some tables. A few old boards are thrown in the corner, and random tools litter the tables. Dust filters through the barren space, and when we reach a door, Neil leans around me to open it.
“Ty!” I scream and run to him.
He’s tied to a chair, and I grab his face and lift his head. “Baby,” he groans, the medication still in his system.
“Ty! Wake up. Wake up!”
Rico grabs me and forcefully pushes me into a chair then ties me to it with abrasive rope. My skin is already becoming raw, and the more I move, the worse the pain is.
“Now, we wait,” Rico states, lighting a cigar and straddling a chair.
“Wait for what?” I ask.
“For you to choose.”
“Choose what?”
Rico looks at Neil. “You didn’t tell her?”
He shakes his head with a twisted smile on his face. “No. I thought you’d like to do the honors.”
Rico laughs, and God, it’s so evil. My gut churns, and I prepare myself for what he’s going to say.
“You’re aware there is a hefty reward out for your man here, right?”
I don’t dignify his question with a response. Instead, I look away from him.
“Well, I’m giving you the option to save his life.”
He has my attention now, so I look at him again. “What?”
Rico nods at me. “Your baby. Or your man. Your choice.”
Chapter 22
Ty
Everything is still blurry and so foggy. I’m aware I’m in a chair. My hands and ankles are tied. I can sense bodies around me, but I don’t want them to know I’m awake until I have more strength back. Purposely, I take large breaths as I open my eyes and look at my feet.
Jessa whimpers, and it takes everything in me not to let her know I’m awake yet. That I’ll save her somehow. That I’ll die to get her out of this mess—my fucking mess.
As my mind clears, I replay the events in my head. Neil. I knew that fucker was no good. Had a bad feeling about him from the beginning. Didn’t think he’d be so much of a prick as to involve Jessa. I’m fuckin’ pissed at myself for letting him in.
“Have you made your decision yet, sweetheart?” Rico—I know that fuckin’ voice.
“Fuck you.”
“I’m not really into pregnant chicks.” He laughs, and I finally look up.
Jessa’s tied to a chair just like I am, and the red marks around her wrists and ankles piss me off even further. “Let her go,” I demand.
All three heads whip in my direction, and Jessa cries my name. I avoid looking at her face because if I look into her eyes, it’ll weaken me. And I need to be strong right now.
“Ah, there’s my boy!” Rico walks over to me and pats me on the back. “I was beginning to worry you’d never join us.”
“Let her go.”
“But, you see, I can’t do that. Not until she makes her decision.”
I ignore what he just said. “Let her go.”
“Jessa, you made your choice yet?” Neil asks.
“Fuck you!”
“Aren’t you curious what choice she has to make, Tyler?” Rico squats in front of me. “I’ll deliver the five mil to Neil here and call off the hit when she decides.”
I grind my teeth together. “What?”
“You or the baby.” He laughs, and I finally bring my eyes to Jessa.
Hers are leaking tears, and I zero in on a cut on her cheek, rage boiling inside me like I’ve never felt before. She doesn’t say a word, but she doesn’t need to.
“Me,” I tell Rico.
“No! Ty, no!” Jessa screams and pushes around in her chair, but Neil puts his hand on the back of it to steady her.
“Sit still, bitch. Damn.”
“I need to hear her say it.” Rico sits back down in a chair and puffs on a cigar.
I glare at him. “Word gets spread far and wide that she’s off the radar. She’s not to be touched. The baby doesn’t exist to you.”
“Fine,” he agrees.
“I need your word.”
“You just got it.” He narrows his eyes.
He’s not like Marco. Never was. In all the years that I worked with him, his word was as solid as steel. He didn’t get off on hurting people; he just wanted money.
I nod then turn to my w
oman. “Jessa, listen to me.”
“No! No, no, no,” she chants.
“Baby, listen to me!”
She shakes her head but stops calling out.
“I told you I’d do whatever it took. Tell them.”
“No! You can’t make me pick. I won’t do it.” Her cry becomes more incoherent, and I worry she’ll hurt herself or the baby. My baby, my little girl. The one I’ll never get to meet or hold.
“Dammit, Rico! Just fuckin’ let her go!” I scream. “Take me!”
He stands and grabs the SIG from the table then tosses the bag to Neil. “Count it.”
Neil leaves Jessa’s chair, and while he’s rummaging through the bag of money, Jessa and I stare at each other. I love you, I mouth to her. She doesn’t respond, but I know how she feels about me. She’s not the one who hid it. She was always open and honest. I was the coward who was too afraid to admit I fell in love with her when I was sixteen years old in history class.
“Call off the hit,” I demand. “I need to hear you say the words. I need to know they’re safe.” Rico begins to speak, but I cut him off. “It’s the least you can do.” I’d beg him if he wanted, but he nods and produces a cell from inside his suit pocket. Pretentious asshole.
He dials a number and holds the phone to his ear. “Target acquired. Yes. It’s done. Call it off.” Once he slides the phone back, he steps closer to me and raises the gun to my head. “Any last words to your woman?”
I ignore him and continue to look at Jessa. Her tears have stopped, and she just stares at me. I tell her I love her again silently. “Close your eyes, baby.”
She shudders, tells me she loves me, and then closes her eyes.
I swallow then nod, telling Rico to do it. That I’m prepared. The safety clicks off, and the cold metal touches my scalp.
* * *
Jessa
I don’t want the last memory I have of him to be of his head blown up in front of me, so I close my eyes and focus on our memories. The first time I saw him. The first time he kissed me. How when we made love, it was so beautiful; it was two souls coming together.
I’ve tried to be strong, but I’m not. I’m not made for this. Murder and money. I just want to go back home. I want to go home with Ty.
