by DD Prince
“One sec, Tess. One sec.” I shoved out of the room. Tess moved with me and crouched by Dex, who was trying, feebly, to get up but he was half buried under shit that had fallen on him. Further into the alcove was a supply closet.
“Stay here, Tessa. Tia!”
I heard my girl scream. The supply closet.
This part of the alcove was dark but unhindered so I grabbed the knob. Locked. I slammed my shoulder against it, while drawing my gun from my lower back holster.
“Tia!”
“Tom-mf!” I heard but the end syllable of my name was muffled. Someone fucking had her in that closet.
I slammed my shoulder against the door again and it gave. I got in. A guy, my age, in a waiter’s uniform, who I didn’t know… he had a gun to her head and was using her as a shield.
Seeing a gun against her head again, a-fucking-gain? It took me right back to that moment with my Pop. Her eyes were huge and on me. This little fucker had to fucking die and after he was dead, Leo Denarda would die a very slow and extremely painful death.
“I’ll kill her! I’ll do it, Ferrano. Back the fuck off.” The guy was wild-eyed.
My gun was pointed at him. His was pointed at her.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded, holding my gun steady.
“Leo hired me to nab her. I got no beef. It’s just a fuckin’ job.
Buddy, we gotta get the fuck outta here, though. The bomb!”
“You detonate the bomb?”
“Fuck no. I’m in here, cornered. Why the fuck would I do that? Move. I gotta get outta here. Lower your gun or I shoot her and then shoot you before we blow the fuck up!”
“Give her to me and you can go. I give no fucks.”
“Bullshit. I know who you are, man!”
“I don’t give a fuck who you are. Give me my wife and fuckin’ go.”
Tia looked frightened out of her mind.
“Baby, it’s okay.” I told her, “Buddy, you hired to take me out?”
“No. Just to grab her. There’s a third explosion coming. I don’t have much time. I gotta---” He looked at his watch.
“Third?”
“There were two in quick succession planned and then I have ten minutes to get out. It’s been at least three, four minutes. I saw you---”
“Leo’s in my hands already so there will be no blowback for you not grabbing my wife. Get the fuck outta here.”
I didn’t let the gun go but lowered it a little and watched him. I was good at the quick draw. I hated lowering the gun, putting her at any risk whatsoever but we were at a stalemate. The guy looked freaked. He was not a pro and he was flipped out. His plan had obviously gone south if he’d grabbed her in the bathroom before a bomb blocked his way out with her. The supply closet had no windows. If I recalled correctly, there was a set of restrooms on the other side of this large c-shaped bar and that side probably had a fire exit.
“Shit is south. Everything is fucked!”
“Help me out and I’ll take care of you,” I assured him. I looked him right in the eye. “Give it all to me, I’ll take care of you. Leo’s in my guy’s hands so you’re good. I get that it’s just a job. Turn this thing around now, man, this is your only chance.”
The guy looked at me a beat and then looked visibly relieved, “Didn’t know about this washroom. There’s a fuckin’ exit beside that other one on the other side of the bar. Someone fucked up. Figured she’d go there. Eyes were on her. As soon as she went to the ladies room, bitches always do that, head to the washroom in groups. She goes, Leo leaves. Bomb one. Then bomb two blocking the door into that bar so first responders have trouble getting in and maybe it takes out you and his other enemies. Bomb three happens ten minutes after, giving me that ten to get her out and to Leo before number three. If I can’t get her out, I’m to bail before ten minutes. But she’s on the wrong side and this closet wasn’t a fuckin’ exit!”
“Any mention of my sister?”
“Your sister. No. Was that the rangy chick in the bathroom with her?”
“Let’s find our way out of here. Who’s detonating bomb three and from where?”
“I dunno; only know we’re runnin’ outta time!”
“Let’s go, man.” I waved toward the door and reached for Tia’s hand. He’d had his arm hooked around her neck. He instantly let go of her and she grabbed me and we went to move out. I turned around and shot the fucker in the face.
Tia screamed as he dropped.
“Shh,” I pulled her with me back out into the alcove.
My eyes were still fucking burning a little but it was dissipating.
I heard sirens moving in. I called Nino. He answered on the first ring.
“T! Fuck man.” I heard sirens even louder in the background. Good.
“Nino, third bomb happening in less than five minutes. Maybe much less. Don’t know from where.”
“Fuck. I’ll tell the fire department.”
I was at Dex and my sister. Two guys were pulling the boards off Dex and he was now free. But he wasn’t moving.
People were moving a little. Some, anyway. I didn’t know where this bomb was detonating from or how bad this was gonna be. I needed to get us the fuck out. I saw we were clear to get behind the bar. There was shit on the floor. Broken bottles and glasses, light fixtures dangling, two people lying on the ground looking dead or unconscious but there was still space to get around them. A couple people had their phones on and the space was illuminated a bit.
“That way; there’s a fire exit by the bathrooms on the other side of this bar.” I hoped I was right. I’d toured the place twice so I was pretty sure.
Dex was in rough shape but I hauled him over my shoulders, fireman-hold style.
“Athena, hold the back of my jacket. Don’t let go. Contessa, hold Tia’s hand.”
Tia was bawling and rubbing her eyes but she followed my directions and grabbed my jacket and my sister’s hand and I moved through the area behind the bar at the same time as firefighters moved in through the area over there at that emergency exit, their helmet lights illuminating the space even more. The place was a fucking mess and there were definitely casualties above and beyond the fucker I’d shot.
I called behind me, “Everyone who can move, move out this door.” I called to the two firefighters, “A guy over there told me there’s a third explosion happening and it could be any minute, ten minutes after the second explosion.” The firefighter’s back straightened and his eyes went wide.
And then with Dex over my shoulder, Tia and Tess at my back, we moved outdoors.
Paramedics moved to us immediately, pushing a gurney. Someone helped me get Dex onto it. He was now unconscious.
Nino moved to me.
“Where is he?” I muttered under my breath.
“Got ‘im,” Nino said low, his face stone as he took in the wreckage that was visibly coming out of Fete in the arms of firefighters.
Tia was still holding my coat. Tess was still holding Tia’s hand.
I turned around to face them. They both looked a little bit disheveled but otherwise fine. Thank God Tia being out of the way for the first and second explosions was a part of that fucker’s plan.
“Good,” I said to Nino and turned around and took my wife into my arms.
She was still bawling. She was also shaking. I took my filthy tux jacket off and put it on her shoulders as she cried into my chest.
Nino put his arms around Tess and hugged her. She was crying, too, watching Dex get wheeled toward an ambulance. More ambulances were coming.
“Move away from this building,” I said and we all moved back. I didn’t know whether John, Kate, Ben, Olive, or any of our other investors were still in there but there were more emergency vehicles arriving.
This place was rural, it’d take time, time we might not have. I wanted the girls away from this area. Our limo was still here so I moved the girls to it and led them inside.
“Don’t. Don’t go back in there!” She g
rabbed at me frantically when she realized that I wasn’t getting in.
“I won’t. I won’t, baby. I’m just seeing what’s what. Gotta talk to the cops. You okay? Anything hurt?”
Her hand moved to her stomach and she grabbed the fabric of her dress there, “No. No I’m not hurt. My ribs a little from his gun that he pushed…but no. The room shook and we heard the booms but I didn’t get hurt. That guy that grabbed me was rough with me but I’m… I’m okay.” Tears streamed down her face. I kissed her on the lips. Her hand moved up to her ribs. I put my hand on hers a second and kissed her on her nose and then her mouth.
Thank fuck.
“Pull out to the main road, “I said to the driver, “Fast. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“No, Tommy. Wait. If it blows…” she started but I shut the door and stepped back. I saw her looking at me through the window. She looked frantic and pounded her fist on the window as the car moved out of the way. I saw her shouting at the driver but he was following my orders to move her away.
We were about eighty feet from the building and people were being pulled out. There were a lot of people outside the place already, people who’d obviously been evacuated already and several people had their phones, filming.
Firefighters started moving the crowd back and unrolling yellow tape.
I saw a gurney come out with Johnny on it, oxygen mask on his face. He was unconscious and not looking good. Fuck. I ran my hands through my hair.
Nino jogged to where a couple cops and Ben stood. He was all right. Good. His wife was with a group a little further back. I told them all to move back some more and we got behind the fire truck.
Minutes ticked by and I watched from what I hoped was a safe distance with Ben, Olive, and two other investors who hadn’t been in the bar area during the explosion.
A third bomb had not gone off. Either it wasn’t happening or Leo Denarda had to give the order but he couldn’t give any orders because my guys had him. Multiple ambulances were on the scene. All of my people were okay. But I felt sick to my stomach when I heard Olive say to Ben that they hadn’t seen Johnny’s wife Kate.
Tia
I was out of my mind with worry. That limousine sat idling on the side of the road a half mile away from the Fete building. The driver told us that the limo was armored as well and was trying to be soothing but in a bossy way because I was having a flip out and I think he knew he had to keep us safe and stop me from doing something stupid, like running toward the building to find my husband.
I didn’t know if that was just our luck that we were in an armored car or if Tommy had planned it that way, but I was not soothed by anything. I was sick with worry and sick with the images I’d seen.
One minute, I’m trying to calm my sister-in-law down and the next minute there was this shaking boom that I felt deep in my bones.
We couldn’t get the bathroom door opened to get out but by the sounds and smells I knew there was some sort of explosion and there was also fire. The fire alarms blared a second and then everything went dark. Tess and I had debated what to do and then finally, she pushed against the door and it wouldn’t move. I pushed too but I was pretty sure there was a person against it. I’d heard a grunt.
“Dex?” I’d called out but he didn’t answer and then a waiter came in, bringing all sorts of dust and smoke with him. I couldn’t see him well as we had our phone lights on but mine dropped to the floor the wrong way so wasn’t giving off much light. He grabbed me and started pulling me out and I knew instantly that this guy wasn’t here to help.
We started to cough as that dust filled our lungs and I screamed and tried to pull away so Tessa started fighting him off. I was trying to fight him off, too, but he was big and strong and so Tess got her shoe off and hit him in the side of the head with it. He swore at her and then struggled and hit Tessa in the face with a gun. There was dim light coming in from multiple places in the bar.
He dragged me with him, something poking my ribs.
“Come or I fuckin’ shoot ya.” He pushed the gun barrel into my ribs, and my mind was filled with fear for my unborn baby while I wondered if Tommy got hurt. I couldn’t fathom anything worse than hurt; it was too frightening.
When the guy got me out of the bathroom into what was looking like a hellhole, he climbed over Dex’s prone body, pulling me along with him. I’d cried out looking around, trying to see what was around us, which was a mess. Stuff dangling from the ceiling. Smoke. A horrible burnt smell. Something by the door to the far end of the place was on fire and I could see a few people moving around and hear people who were clearly hurt.
“Tommy!” I’d screamed out and the guy who had me covered my mouth and lifted me and pulled me quickly into another room as I saw what I was pretty sure was Tommy’s shape, back behind a bunch of debris but making his way toward our direction.
There was another boom and then we were behind the closed door of a supply closet. The guy had his hand over my mouth and he had the gun in my ribs again. It was pushed to my ribs to the point of pain and I just stayed still until I heard my husband calling my name. Tommy was close.
I bit the guy’s fingers and that got me enough room briefly to scream for Tommy. The guy smacked me in the mouth and then put his hand over my mouth again.
And a few very scary moments after that, yet another gun to my head, I saw my husband kill that guy. That guy who gave us info that might’ve saved us. And Tommy killed him. Like he’d killed his father for putting a gun to me.
This guy had hit Tess in the face with a gun and dragged and threatened me and my ribs did feel bruised. He’d smacked me in the mouth, too. He’d agreed to help us and gave us info and Tommy didn’t know the guy had struck me in the face but maybe Tommy had killed him for putting the gun to my head.
He’d promised me in the dark of night after nightmares that no one would do that again. He’d had so many dreams that I imagine had to do with Tom Sr. putting that gun to my head and the pointing it at me when Tommy shot him.
And all those people hurt, on the ground, crying or not moving was streaming like a movie through my mind. Tommy put us in a car and where on earth was he now?
I kept praying he wasn’t about to be blown to smithereens by that third explosion. I couldn’t even think about him being in there with that happening, I wanted to claw my way out of that car and run and save him.
Me, saving him? It was crazy-talk but I was overcome with this urge to get to him, to drag him away from that building.
After a really long time, with no explosion sounds, thankfully, he and Nino were approaching us and I was bawling with relief, wanting to barf, wanting to shake some sense into him for leaving me sitting here for what felt like hours.
The driver stepped out and Tommy said something to him and then the driver, Tommy, and Nino all got into the car and as we pulled away, he turned towards me and I immediately crawled into his lap and threw my arms round his neck. He held me close but he was shaking.
I looked up at his face, thinking he was shaking with relief for a second but then I saw something very different from relief. It was absolute rage.
I wanted to back away; his face was that scary, but he had me by the back of the neck and he crushed his mouth to mine briefly, his whole body tight and shaking, his eyes ablaze, an inferno of anger.
“In your seatbelt, baby,” he said, his voice like scratchy gravel, and he physically set me beside him and buckled my belt. Tessa buckled up, her eyes on her brother, and then they moved to me and she and I were having what was the exact same thought. Tommy had never looked this angry. Never.
“What about ---” I started to ask about Dex, the other explosion, all of it, but Tommy’s hand hooked around my neck and he pulled me sideways and put his mouth to my temple hard and then let me go and I shut my mouth. It wasn’t the time for questions.
Tessa’s wide eyes moved to the window and I saw a nervous swallow move down her throat. Her hands were trembling. I looked at Nino
and his expression was pretty similar to Tommy’s. We drove for a while and then we stopped in a warehouse parking lot.
“Stay here a minute. I’ll send Will out for you,” Tommy said.
I was about to ask where we were and where he was going, and it took a second for me to remember who Will even was, but I could tell it wasn’t a good idea to utter a word.
He got out of the car and strode, with purpose, Nino beside him, to the door. The door opened by someone inside and they disappeared inside.
Tessa and I stared at one another. I chewed on my bottom lip.
A moment later, Nino was back with Will, who I hadn’t seen at the event after we’d had our tour. He’d been behind us until we got into the bar.
He was walking with Nino toward the car and then the door was pulled open.
“Girls, follow me,” Nino said and Tessa got out first and then I followed.
***
It was like something from a movie. We walked down a long hallway, through double doors, and then we were in a loading dock area. Leo Denarda was looking very black and blue, sitting taped to a chair. His face and tuxedo shirt were bloody.
Me and Tessa stopped inside the door. There were three big men in the room that I didn’t recognize and they stood against the doors.
Tommy was standing over Leo, looking fiercely angry, looking ten times angrier than even that morning when someone tried to shoot us while we were having sex a few days after he’d rescued me from Juan Carlos Castillo in Mexico. His tux jacket was still over my shoulders. Tommy stood there, his bow tie undone, his shirtsleeves up.
“Contessa,” Tommy said angrily, “Here.”
Tessa moved with confidence toward her brother. I was a little confused for a second and then it dawned. She was facing her rapist and she wanted to strut like he hadn’t hurt her, hadn’t beaten her down.
“What did he do to you?” Tommy folded his arms and looked at his sister.
She straightened her spine, standing beside tommy, not three feet from Leo, and said, “He had me drugged and kidnapped, he mutilated my arm with an Xacto knife, he raped me, and then he sent me to an auction to be sold.”
