My Life for Yours

by Margaret McHeyzer

  Firstly, and this is the most difficult part for me, I’m bisexual. Actually I prefer the touch of a man than the touch of a woman. But in this lifestyle and in my time I need to keep that a secret. You can understand how weak I would be perceived if this ever got out. And truthfully, I hope you’re not disappointed in me to know that I prefer the company of men to women. I didn’t raise you to be critical of other’s sexual preferences so I’m hoping you’re shrugging your shoulders not caring about mine.

  Your mother was aware of this and often allowed me the time with my other partners. She herself was an amazing woman. I miss her every day and wish that cancer would have taken me instead of her. She loved you with all her heart and she loved me the same, with complete and utter devotion and total overwhelming love. She came from noble blood which made her perfect for me, but she was perfect regardless of her heritage.

  But Francesca there were times I had to keep up appearances as I built our operations and there were times I had to be with other women. Again your mother was aware of these times and she amazingly accepted it for what it was, nothing but shows and smokescreens.

  However, six years ago I was contacted by a hooker who I had slept with and was told of my son.

  What the fuck? Did I just read that, Dad has a son? So that means I have a brother.

  What the fuck?!

  I have a brother. A brother. A fucking brother.

  I set her up with money and told her when he was ready to come to work for me I’d take care of him. She told me he knew who I was and what I did and wanted to be part of the lifestyle. I explained that other than giving him a job and looking after him that he isn’t of pure blood and only you can take over the business and run it.

  He’s not approached me for a job yet, but I’m sure he will. And if I haven’t told you about this face to face, you need to know that he’s a good kid. I’ve written him a letter and told him that if anything ever happens to me he’s to introduce himself to you as your brother.

  Seeing as you’re reading this, I assume and hope he’s made himself known.

  My beautiful girl, I love you with all my heart.

  Take care of G, he’s a good man who will do anything for you.

  And I hope that you and your brother have formed the bond that I would want to see from my children. He can never run this family though, and he’s fully aware of that. Take care of Marko, he’ll always be your brother.

  I love you.

  Dad

  What the fuck?

  I read the name again.

  Marko.

  My brother.

  And he knows.

  And he’s not said a word.

  He’s been with us for two years before Dad died. So he’s been with us for five years and neither he nor Dad said anything to me.

  A wave of betrayal and anger has ambushed me and thrown me into turmoil. Everything I thought and everything I believed has been built on deception.

  My life has been one big lie. I have a brother who knows about me and who’s not said a word to me. He’s worked for me, taken orders from me and even calls me Miss DeLuca.

  “Frankie?” G interrupts me. I look up and let go of the paper at the same time. It flitters through the air like a carefree leaf not knowing the intense volume it actually holds.

  “What, G?” I sigh.

  “Jason and Lance are dead.”

  I sit back and pinch the bridge of my nose as I close my eyes.

  “What?” I open my eyes and look at G.

  “They’re dead. They never made it to Albania with Jeremy’s mother. She’s there but they aren’t.”

  “What the fuck’s going……….”

  Wait.

  I stand and start pacing.

  My mind’s going a million miles an hour, not slowing down. Every little piece of the puzzle is now being illuminated and highlighted.

  I look at G as it all comes together.

  “What?” G asks me.

  “How do you know Lance and Jason are dead?”

  “I tried calling their phones but they were switched off, I thought I’d try and track them and the last known address was where we left them. So I called a few people we have connections with in Albania and they got right onto it, found Betsy and asked her about Jason and Lance; she told them no one came with her to Albania, incidentally Betsy’s almost penniless too.” Already?

  “Marko.”

  “What about him?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “What?”

  I point down at the letter and G bends to pick it up. He starts reading it and I watch his face with intent. His eyebrows knit together and his mouth drops open.

  “He’s behind all of this, G.”

  “Well fuck me.”

  “He wants me dead; he bombed Moonrise, he killed Miloni’s men to make it look like we did it in order to start a war. He killed Rocky because Rocky was probably in on it, he had the whore kill Miloni then he killed her when she started running her mouth and he most likely killed Lance and Jason as a clean-up.”

  “Marko. As much as I don’t wanna believe it, it all makes sense, Frankie.”

  “I need to kill him.”

  “Yes we do.”

  Just then my thoughts are flooded with Jeremy. He must have been the one who kidnapped him and tried to use him as leverage against me.

  Shit. Jeremy.

  “Ohhhh,” I suck a breath in and look at G. “Jeremy.”

  “Fuck, Jeremy’s on his way to his death.”

  My mind shifts from horror into business. I walk out of the bedroom and to the makeshift office that G and I have been using. I pick up the phone and dial Jeremy’s number. It’s switched off.

  “How long before he lands?”

  “He should have landed already, Frankie.” G states as he checks his watch.

  “Call Marko.”

  G picks up the phone and dials Marko’s number. He hands me the phone and I hear it ringing.

  “G,” Marko answers.

  “Wrong.”

  “Miss DeLuca.”

  “Cut the shit.” My tone icy cold and menacing.

  “Good, I hated pretending.” Marko’s tone changes too, with a more sinister ring to it.

  “Do you have him?”

  “Oh yes I do.”

  “Is he alive?”

  “For now.”

  “What do you want?”

  “You know full well. I want the power and I want the money. All of it.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “And Jeremy?”

  “I’ll keep him alive.”

  “I’ll swap my life for his.”

  “No!” G yells at me. I silence him with a look and go back to Marko.

  “Where do you want us, Marko?”

  “Let’s stick with the boat shed. But if you bring anyone along, I’ll kill you both.”

  “Proof of life. I want it now.”

  I hear a ruffle of what I think is the privacy screen being lowered in one of the limousines.

  “Mr Miller, Miss DeLuca would like a word.”

  “Tell her I’m not interested” I hear Jeremy’s distant voice and instantly I can hear the sorrow in it. His tone matches all the emotions going around inside my body, surrounded and immersed in a bandage so constricting that breathing becomes laboured. But I need to get him back, even if he chooses to live a life without me in it.

  I hear the privacy screen slide back up.

  “What time, Marko?”

  “Let’s go for 4pm. Remember, Sister, come alone.”

  He hangs up before I can say anything else to him.

  “He’s gonna kill you both,” G confirms what I’m already thinking.

  I sit in the chair and smile at G.

  “No he won’t.” I lift an eyebrow and smirk.

  “And you can confirm this how?”

  “Fifteen.” Is the only word I say with a definite air of confidence.

  “
Fifteen what?”

  I sit back in my chair and watch as his questions turn into realization.

  “Oh right. Fifteen.”

  I nod my head and smile knowing that tomorrow at 4pm, Marko will have met his maker.

  “Pay her whatever she wants, G. If she’s not available, double the money. Set it up.”

  “Frankie. At this moment in time I have to tell you, I’m so damn proud of you.”

  I leave the office and let G get in contact and sort out the details to hire the world’s best assassin. Fifteen is her name. She’s untraceable and one of the most ruthless people who G has ever had any dealing with.

  She’ll get the job done.

  Chapter 25

  The next few hours were terrifying. G had got in contact with Fifteen’s handler and she was on another job, but with a huge amount of money at my disposable the handler was able to ‘rearrange’ her current ‘hit’, as he told G, and take our job. It did set us back a cool eighteen million, but G had assured me that she was by far the best assassin in the world. With the money transferred, now all we had to do was get back and wait. The handler told us that he’d be in contact for further details and for visual confirmation of her hit.

  “G, can you get access to the security cameras of the limousine that Marko’s got?”

  “I’m two steps ahead, Frank. I’ve got Bruno onto it but Marko knows they’re there so he dumped the limousine shortly after your call. The car was found burnt out, totally destroyed. Jeremy’s bag was in the truck of the car. I’ve got Bruno tracking Jeremy’s phone and Marko’s phone but both are switched off.”

  ~~~~~

  The plane ride back home is anything but peaceful. The entire trip’s been completely unnerving and all-consuming with thoughts of what Jeremy’s going through. Marko is by nature extremely cruel. I just hope that Marko’s kept his trigger finger at bay while holding my Senator hostage. I’m praying that Jeremy must now know that Marko isn’t who he’d been pretending to be and is doing everything in his power to just stay alive.

  Though my life has been laid out for me from the moment I was born, I catch myself wishing that an alternative lifestyle were possible. A world where I’m no longer a targeted figure for every fucker who believes they’re entitled to what’s mine.

  I want a better life, and I want a moment of peace.

  I turn to G who’s sitting next to me on the plane and it hits me, like the proverbial ton of bricks.

  That breathtaking and crushing moment that my life’s now at a point that must finally find resolution and clarity. An impassioned light drifts through my body and awakens me from the darkness that’s been consuming me.

  I now know what it is that I need to do.

  “G, I’m ready to step back,” G’s eyes widen in shock.

  “You can’t go anywhere, Frank. You’ve turned it around to be more profitable than it’s ever been before. Where the hell are you gonna go?”

  “I’ll always be a phone call away. But I’m giving the reins over.”

  “No one can run it, there’s no one I trust with it. You can’t walk away. You’re the only one who can propel the business in the right direction,” G’s turned his head and looked around the cabin making sure there aren’t any ears flapping too closely.

  “I’m not handing it over to just anyone, G and really, like I said, I’ll always be close by. The person I’ll give it to, can handle it.”

  “Well you can’t go even if you want to. They need to be blood and the only blood is Marko and as of tomorrow he’ll be dead.”

  I lean in to whisper to G, he tilts his head closer to me so he can hear what I have to say. “Now listen well, because I’ll never repeat these words.” G’s nods his head as he brings his elbow up on the divider between us and cups his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I know what to do,” G sits back and his face lines with thousands of questions.

  “Why now, Frank?”

  I look out the window and just think how to phrase the words that have been parading around in my mind for a while.

  “Dad thought that he’d be dead because of a rival, truthfully I’ve been counting the days until my life will be taken from me. Dad died from a heart attack, something no one could’ve ever predicted or prepared for. This life of crime’s not who I want to be anymore. I’ve loved every minute of it, G but now it’s time I step away and regain my own life.” I stop and take a deep breath, “I told Jeremy I’d give my life for his and I would, but at this stage, my life is worth very little until I find who I am. I want to be the woman he deserves and I want to be the woman who would make my father proud. I want to be the woman who I would be proud of.”

  “Frankie I have to tell you, that since you met that man of yours, you’ve been changing. You’re evolving and I think you’re right. I think you’re now not suited to this life any more. You need more and deserve more. Let me tell you something too.” He hooks his arm around my shoulders and brings me close to him. He kisses my forehead then smooths down my hair. “Your father would be so proud of you, Frankie. He never wanted this for you but you were the only full blood. I didn’t know about your brother back then, but I knew your father very well and he wouldn’t ever trust this to anyone but you.”

  A tear falls from my eye as I listen to G describe how he saw my father through his eyes, but also how G perceives me too.

  The rest of the flight is sat in silence.

  The drive home is sat in silence.

  And the night is filled with silence and sorrow as I pray for the safe return of my Senator.

  Chapter 26

  The morning light breaks through my bedroom windows but I’ve been up and ready since the sun touched the horizon.

  This particular morning I’m anything but calm. I’m overcome with a sickening feeling that started off as a niggling little irk, that kept growing and sprouting into what it is now. So many feelings of doom are here and I can’t shake them off.

  For the second time in my life, I can’t control what happens to someone I care for. First my father and his heart attack, and now, Jeremy. This is also the first time in my life that I’ve fallen in love and it’s terrifying. Living a life without Jeremy near me and living a life where Jeremy isn’t in it, is scaring the shit out of me.

  I sit on the side of my bed, completely dressed in clothes that showcase my mindset. Black and bleak.

  Knock knock.

  “Frankie, Fifteen’s handler just got in contact,” I hear G through the door.

  I walk over and open it and we both start towards the kitchen.

  “You okay, Frank?” G asks without trying to comfort me.

  “I’m fine. I just need today to go smoothly.”

  G lets out a huge belly laugh.

  “Why are you laughing at me? What if Jeremy’s dead by the time we get there? I mean, what if she misses and hits Jeremy? What if this Fifteen fucks off with eighteen million and we all end up dead?” Again G laughs at me as he pours out our coffee. He sits down next to me at the table and shakes his head at me.

  “Firstly, she won’t piss off with your money and second she’s somewhat of a legend.”

  I frown as I take a sip. “A legend? What do you know of her?”

  “Only the rumours.”

  “Rumours? Now you have to tell me what you’ve heard.” I sit back in my chair and fold my arms together.

  “Well rumour has it that from a young age she had a passion for guns.”

  “Strange fucking passion to have from a young age but each to their own.” I shrug.

  “Anyway, when she was fifteen, Roman Murphy sent five goons to take her and kill her whole family cause he wanted to recruit her.”

  “Did he?”

  “The legend goes that he tried but she killed all of them before they had a chance to take her. They did though kill her entire family.”

  “Wow. Well apparently the best assassins are the ones with no family ties. So what happened next?”

 
“Again this is the legend, so who knows how much is truth but apparently she fell off the grid completely. Didn’t really re-emerge until she was something like seventeen or eighteen. But when she did re-emerge, she was completely transformed into a killing machine. She took out all the top men in her business by the time she turned twenty, and no one comes close to her.”

  “If those rumours or legends are true, then she’s completely controlled and very disciplined.” I watch as G nods his head. “She’d be fucking scary.” Again he nods.

  “What do you remember about that Cardinal in Italy six years back?” I try to recall but have no idea. I shrug my shoulders and shake my head, no, indicating I have no idea. “Assassinated from well over a mile out.”

  What the hell?

  “How’s that possible and how do you know?”

  “That was her first job for your father. He didn’t tell me about it until we hired her again to take out The Congressman.”

  “Well fuck me. A woman who’s most likely the most deadly in the world. She’s got my respect.”

  “And mine.” G laughs.

  “So you’re telling me, we’ll get him back.”

  “Without a damn scratch, Frank.”

  With my pulse in a somewhat less catastrophic beat, I can begin to let my mind wander to a future with less danger.

  I can think about Jeremy, and hopefully he’ll be back in my arms again in a few short hours.

  Chapter 27

  “Just relax, Frankie. It’ll all be over before you know it.”

  I nod as G’s talking, but the lump in my throat is telling me that even though this’ll be over soon, the possibility that it won’t go to plan is still very clear and very real. Anything can happen. I’ve hired an assassin, who says that Marko doesn’t have his own army there?

  “G, call Bruno in.” We’re standing in my office as I’m preparing myself for death.

  G picks up the phone and with a couple of commands calls for Bruno to join us. I walk over to lean up against the desk with G to my right.

  “What’s going on, Frankie?” G asks, he looks nervous, like I’m just about to kill him.

  “Relax old man. It’s fine.” Just as I finish the sentence Bruno appears at the door and waits for an invitation in.