Love and Sacrifice: The Pierce Family Trilogy #2

by Chelsea Ballinger

  "But he's still going to kill my father."

  "Yeah, but only because he thinks if he kills him you will be set free."

  "But he won't have me."

  "He knows that, but he doesn't care, Ella. He’d rather you hate him for the rest of his life than see you die. Now what would be really surprising and noble is if he just decided not to kill you or your father, but he isn't that strong or stupid. Trust me, I know. I got my degree in Psychology."

  Russell smiles at me and lifts the hem of my tank with the tip of his blade. The metal against my stomach is cold. He stares at my body like he’s in a trance and all I can think about is my family. The things I never got to say or the things I've never gotten to do. I don't want to die, and what is even more messed up is that I can't help but to also think about Tommy. I hate him.

  The damaged thoughts on what he wants to do with me are interrupted by the door being opened.

  "What?" Russell asks with an attitude.

  "They're back," the man says.

  Russell sighs, "Well, to be continued." He throws on his jacket and tucks his knife in the strap under his jeans. "Let's go see Tommy and daddy."

  He unties me and pulls me up. With his arm hooked into mine and his gun pointed at me, he walks me out of the tunnels of what seems like a factory. We head up stairs and soon end up on the main floor of the building surrounded by rust, old equipment, and probably about twenty men.

  Standing between Mickey and Russell, I see the large door open and a car backing up into the factory. Someone gets out of the driver’s side. It’s Tommy... He looks worn out and tired. He looks at me and the pained expression on his face almost makes me feel sorry for him. He lowers his head and walks over to the passenger’s side, opening it and pulling out my father. He points his gun at him and pushes him forward.

  "Dad!" I yell, trying to run for my dad, but Russell yanks me back.

  "It's okay sweetie, everything is going to be fine."

  How can he say fine? The guy I'm in love with has a gun to his back and we’re surrounded by psychos. How is any of this fine?

  "Mickey," my father says.

  "Roman, it’s been a long time."

  "Yes, it has."

  "How is that lovely wife of yours?"

  Dad doesn't answer him.

  "Oh, don't worry. I’ll be paying her a visit soon."

  "You said if I brought Roman you would let her go, that means leaving the rest of her family alone, Mickey," Tommy says.

  "You don't make any demands here, kid. I'm disappointed in you; the fact that you thought that I was just going to let your betrayal go."

  "You can do whatever you want with me, but just let Ella go."

  "You would spit on everything I have given you for this little bitch?!" Mickey pulls me by my hair and I let out a small whimper from the pain on my scalp.

  "You take your hands off my daughter," my father grits out.

  "No, I'm going to make both of you watch what I do to your baby girl. Then I’m going to make her watch while I cut both of your throats! And then I'll feed her to my soldiers and they will break her and then maybe I’ll kill her to end her suffering."

  "Thank you for making this easy, Mickey," Tommy points his gun to one man and shoots him while my father pulls a gun from behind his back and shoots at another. A loud crash comes from inside the factory windows and two men, Benny and Lionel, jump out of the trunk while three trucks drive in with my father's army blazing out like warriors. Russell grabs me while gunshots are fired. I try to fight him off, but he’s too strong. He drags me through the back of the factory. Tired of me trying to fight him, he pushes me to the ground.

  “You know, I wanted us to get to know each other a little bit better, but you’re starting to irritate me.” He pulls out his gun and points it at me.

  “AHHH!” Tommy tackles Russell to the ground, punching him repeatedly. Russell wraps his arm around Tommy’s neck and bangs his head against the ground. I swing on Russell, but he easily leans back and delivers a slap to my face. I fall down on the ground as Tommy gets back up.

  Tommy

  I clench my fists as I see Ella fall down. Russell looks at me and smiles. I’m gonna kill him.

  “We could have shared her, HK. Me and Terry had planned to, but since you killed him. I’m in need of a friend. I don’t have too many friends.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “Well I guess I’ll get satisfaction when I kill you, because you’ll die knowing you failed her.” He throws a punch, but I duck down and hit him in the stomach. I push him to the ground and swing over and over until an intense pain sears through my thigh. A military knife sticks in my leg.

  Shit.

  The pain distracts me and Russell sucker punches me. I fall back and a sharp pain runs through me as Russell rips the knife out of my thigh.

  I see Ella try to run up on him again, but he laughs and pushes her back down. He looks back at me and wipes the blood from his nose.

  “Wow, you really are a disappointment. Everyone talks about you like you’re this badass. But you’re weak.” I get on all fours and look at Ella who stares at me.

  “I’m really going to miss you, HK.”

  I close my eyes briefly and stand up, blocking the pain in my leg. I feel him raising his knife, ready to kill me.

  I quickly turn around and dodge him, grabbing his wrist, bending it back, snatching the knife and stabbing him deep in the chest where his black heart is. He stares at me with his eyes and mouth wide open.

  “My name… is Tommy,” I tell him, and he falls to the ground. His breathing slows until it stops. I look at Ella, still on the ground. I reach out my hand for her to grab. She is hesitant at first, but reluctantly she grabs it and I help her up.

  “Ella.” We turn around to see Roman with Mickey next to him, his gun pointed at Roman’s head. "Mick!" I raise my gun at him. "Let him go!" Mick stares at me in disgust.

  "You would choose him! Over me?! After everything I have done for you!"

  "What about everything I’ve done for you?!" I throw back. "I went to prison for you! I have tortured and killed for you! Isn’t that enough?! He killed your brother because you murdered his mother! If it was me, I would have done the same thing. It’s just the same bullshit, Mickey. It’s always justified when it’s you, but for anyone else, it’s not okay. This needs to stop.”

  "All this... for that bitch!" Mickey points his finger at Ella standing behind me. "She turned you against me! I told you not to get too close!"

  "I am asking you... please, let it go. It’s over."

  "You’re dead. Everyone you love is dead. Your girlfriend, your brother! His family! Everyone you love will die, Tommy! Everyone!" He points his gun in my direction and I pull the trigger, firing two shots at his chest. He goes down on his back, gripping his chest. I slowly walk up to him with the gun still in my hand, twitching from the feeling of what I just did.

  Mickey stares up at me with wide eyes, holding onto his life.

  “You just fucked up,” Mickey says.

  “I know.” I raise the gun and fire two more bullets into him.

  Chapter 23

  “Point Of No Return”

  Ella

  The police were twenty minutes late to the party. My dad’s men were long gone, and my dad stayed to make it look like Mickey’s men took him from our home. He also said that Tommy wasn’t involved, that he helped us. I don’t why he did that.

  I watch the police handcuff Tommy and take him to the police car. My dad asks if I’m alright, and I should be okay. My dad is okay, I’m okay, Mickey is dead, and Tommy is going to jail. I should be happy. I am happy about it.

  Tommy

  The trial has been pretty quick. The prosecution is going for twenty-five years, but my lawyer is going for ten with the possibility of parole in five. I’m being charged with assault, second-degree manslaughter, and possession of an illegal firearm, short sentence for manslaughter because I killed Mickey Valentine.
But because I don’t have a clean record, the lawyer is arguing that I am a danger to the community and that I killed Mickey for my own greed and personal reasons. Bullshit, but it’s a good case. I also think the cops are pissed because surprisingly, Roman said I wasn’t involved in the kidnappings and that I saved them. All in all, it doesn’t matter. Once I step into prison, I’m a dead man. Guys from Mickey’s crew or rival families are going to want me dead.

  The jury finally came to a decision. I’m guilty. I wait for the judge to give me my sentence.

  “Even though you have arguably redeemed yourself in some way, by saving an innocent girl, you are still a man that has not learned from your mistakes, Mr. Dumas. I believe the years you spent in a juvenile detention center and in prison did not fit you well. Therefore, Tommy Dumas, I hereby sentence you to ten years in the New York State penitentiary, with a possibility of parole after serving five.”

  Damn.

  That’s that. I turn to see Joey who pats me on the shoulder and pulls me in for a hug. “You keep your head down. You’ll be okay. You can get parole soon.”

  “You and I both know I’m not getting out of there, Joey, unless it’s in a body bag. Thanks for everything. You’re the best brother I ever had.”

  As the bailiff gets ready to take me to my cell, I see Ella in the back. She’s sitting next to her father with a blank expression on her face so I don’t know if she’s happy or sad. I want her to care but I don’t want her to hurt more than she already does. She should just forget about me. But I’ll be damned if I ever forget about her.

  Ella

  I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t care.

  I’ve been telling myself since I heard his sentencing today that I don’t care. There’s a knock on my bedroom door.

  “Come in,” I say. My dad walks in and sits next to me on my bed.

  “How are you doing?” he asks.

  “Good,” I lie.

  He looks around my room and stares at a picture of me on my dresser from when I was five and they’d taken me to see the Nutcracker on ice. I’m smiling and jumping for joy. I was so happy that day. I think that’s why I framed it. It was a time when I was purely happy and didn’t think anything could hurt me.

  “I remember that day,” my dad says. “You were so excited to see that show. I want you to be happy, Ella.”

  “I am happy, dad.”

  “No you’re not,” he sighs. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  “Doing what?”

  He looks at me. “I’m going to ask you a question. I want the truth.”

  “Okay.”

  “What would you like me to do?”

  “What?”

  “What would you like me to do?”

  I’m clueless to my father’s question, but I know what he means. “That kid isn’t gonna last a month there, Ella; too many enemies there.”

  “Dad, I don’t care.”

  “He’s gonna die, Ella.”

  “I don’t care,” I lie, trying to block my pain.

  “I don’t want you to regret anything.”

  “You are unbelievable. You should hate him for what he did.”

  “You’re right. But I respect him for what he has sacrificed. I respect him because… I understand.”

  The tears fall and I’m left speechless as my dad hugs me.

  “What do you want me to do, Ella?”

  I cry out loud into my father’s arms as he holds me. Thinking of everything that has happened, Tommy did give up everything. He messed up but he didn’t fail me. But I’m so hurt, how could I go back?

  I never really understood the love my brother and Claudia shared. I just thought they were dramatic. Now I realize that I was scared to love someone to the point of no return. That’s where I am now… the point of no return.

  Tommy

  This is it. I’m about to be transferred to my new home. The home I never wanted to go back to. I’m thinking the guard is taking me to the shuttle bus, but I’m surprised when he brings me to a room.

  “You got five minutes,” he tells me as he removes the cuffs and steps out.

  In walks Ella. My heart just stops. She’s in jeans with holes in them, gold sandals, and a white low-cut top. I look at her chest and I see my mother’s St. Michael’s necklace. She’s wearing it.

  She glances down and grabs the pendant. “Your brother gave it to me when I went to go see him last night.”

  What?

  She gazes at me and walks closer. “I’ll be in school soon and… I’ll meet guys.”

  The thought of her with another guy makes me want to hit something.

  “I could meet a nice guy who treats me right and be okay,” she pauses. “But okay isn’t enough. Okay is never enough when you’ve had… unconditional love. I think that’s what I had with you. As much as I want to hate you and say it was all a lie, I don’t think it was. So, I want you to answer me this one question. You’re about to go to prison. What’s the last thing you want me to know before you leave? The last most important thing you need to say to me?”

  “I love you.” Without a second thought, I say it. I’m not losing another moment to tell her. “I have loved you since the first moment I saw you. You are in every piece of my soul and I just… I love you. And I don’t think it will ever change and more importantly, I don’t want it to. I want to give you the world. I know I wouldn’t be able to, but I would follow you anywhere.” I suck in a breath and bite my bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

  I watch the tears stream down her face and I just can’t get enough of her being here right now. “I love you,” I tell her one more time, just to make sure she knows that it’s the truth and it is the only truth I will ever live by from this day.

  “Times’ up,” the guard says, walking into the room.

  Ella grabs my face and presses her lips firmly against mine. She devours every part of me as she kisses me with everything she has. I hold onto her and return the favor, and I just want to remember this moment forever. It would be bittersweet if I died today, sweet because of this final moment, bitter because of the loss of having even a smidge of hope of a future with Ella.

  “Time to go,” the guard says again, but as our kiss ends and she gazes into my eyes, I feel as if the world has stopped for just her and me.

  “I’ll wait for you,” she whispers to me and I want to tell her not to, but I won’t.

  I won’t because I have something to live for now and I’m going to fight to be with her again. I’m going to do whatever it takes to be with Ella Pierce again because she is my light. She is my heart and soul. She is the very stray bullet that has pierced through me and stopped the darkness that had taken over me for so long. My sacrifice will not be in vain.

  Epilogue

  Tommy Dumas knew he was going to have to fight his way out from the moment he stepped foot in the prison yard. He scanned each crowd, separated as usual, just like the cafeteria at a high school, by cliques, based on gang or race. Tommy had already spotted the group that glared at him as if a bull’s eye was painted on his forehead.

  Tommy tried to ignore them by keeping his head low, but sat by the weights in case he needed a weapon to defend himself. All he thought about was Ella. She was the reason he would get through this; his hope.

  As a gang of men rose and whispered to each other, Tommy grabbed a dumb bell and squeezed tightly. The men slowly approached the space where Tommy was as he stood up, ready for them. The closer they were, the more Ella’s face popped in his head. If this was his time, he would die thinking of the woman he loved.

  But that time was not today as a group of men stepped in between him and his enemies. They took one look at Tommy’s guardians and turned away. Tommy stared, dumbfounded at what had just occurred. One of the men approached him. He was tall and muscular with tattoos covering his whole upper body.

  He patted Tommy on the arm and smiled. “Mr. Pierce said he’ll be seeing you soon.”

  Tommy laughed
to himself. He never would have thought that Roman Pierce would be the one to save his ass. Not even Mickey did that for him when he was first locked up. But he knew he didn’t do it for him, he did it for his daughter, Ella. She saved him.

  He felt a weight lifted from his shoulders and was overjoyed. Right there, Tommy knew for a fact that he would see Ella again and sooner than expected.

  The End

  Playlist

  “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

  —Plato

  Florence and the Machine- Cosmic Love

  Miley Cyrus- Adore You

  Raleigh Ritchie- Bloodsport

  Ed Sheeran- Give Me Love

  Elisa- Dancing

  A Great Big World Ft. Christina Aguilera- Say Something

  Imagine Dragons- Demons

  Sam Smith- Latch (Acoustic)

  Matthew Perryman Jones- Save Me

  Mikky Ekko- We Must Be Killers

  Mikky Ekko- Pull Me Down

  Milo Greene- Autumn Tree

  The Neighborhood- Everybody’s Watching Me

  Echosmith- Surround You

  HAERTS- All For You

  BOOK 3 of the Pierce Family Trilogy Coming this Fall

  Coming this Summer.

  First Blood: The Rise of the True Immortal

  Imperfections

  The Kindness of Kings

  Check it out!

  Facebook

  https://www.facebook.com/chelsea.ballinger.90

  Website

  http://www.chelseaballinger.com/