by Zoey Parker
Slowly, I moved my head to the side and looked around. I was lying in a hospital bed, wearing a puce-colored cotton gown. There was a sheet pulled over my legs and my skin looked odd, kind of mottled, like I’d been out in the cold. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. I saw Zane rush into the room, his face shining with relief.
“Can I talk to her?” Zane turned towards the nurse. “Please? She’s awake,” he added, as if that was going to change anything.
The nurse gave me a sharp look. “Okay,” she said in a warning tone. “But keep it short. Your wife is still very weak. She was in a coma, and she’s going to need a lot of TLC over the next couple of weeks.”
Zane rushed to my side. At first, I was so relieved to see him that I didn’t notice how exhausted and horrible he looked. There were big dark circles under his eyes and his skin looked transparent, almost like paper.
“Isabella,” Zane said in a ragged voice. He reached for my hands and wrapped them with his. His touch felt rough, but it was warm. “Isabella, I thought you were a fuckin’ goner,” he said in a low tone, pushing his head close to mine. “I was so fuckin’ scared.”
I swallowed hard. “Water,” I managed to croak. It hit me that I was suddenly, desperately thirsty, thirstier than I’d ever been in my whole life. My throat felt like a dry tube of cardboard.
Zane handed me a paper cup and guided it to my mouth. I could feel water spilling and dribbling down my chin but I didn’t care; it was the sweetest thing I’d ever tasted.
“How are you feeling?”
I moaned softly. “I feel horrible,” I admitted. “But you look worse.”
Zane actually grinned at me. “I can imagine,” he said roughly. “But seriously, Isabella, you’re a trooper,” he said, this time in a softer tone. He reached out and stroked my hair. “They say you and the baby are gonna be just fine.”
Oh, my God, the baby! “I can’t believe that,” I said softly. “I mean, I can. I had a crazy dream. I was in this field with our daughter.”
Zane looked at me and shook his head. “You are definitely not having a daughter,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “My first child is gonna be a son. I can tell.” He smiled proudly.
I shook my head. “No, it was a little girl,” I said. “She was blonde, like me, but she had your eyes. She was beautiful.” A tear came to my eye as I remembered the feeling of absolute, inescapable bliss that had come over me when I was frolicking with my daughter in a snowy field. “She was perfect.”
“I bet she was,” Zane said. He reached for my hand again and squeezed.
There was a horrible moment of silence between us. “If you’re here, what happened? What happened to Jake and Rico?”
Zane let out a long sigh, then stretched. He scratched the back of his neck, then returned his hand to my lap. “I was hoping you wouldn’t ask, to be honest,” he said with a guilty grin. “But I took care of them.”
I blinked at him. “What do you mean, you took care of them?”
Zane looked at me. “Do you really wanna hear this?”
I nodded. “Well, not really,” I admitted, twisting my face into a grimace. It hurt, everything still hurt. My whole body ached, but I realized I was at least starting to feel better. There was feeling in my fingers and toes again, and my skin was looking better by the minute. “But I have to,” I said firmly. “I have to know what happened. I want those guys gone,” I added in a soft voice. “They hurt me, and they tried to kill our daughter.”
Zane smiled again. “You mean our son,” he said gruffly. “But I get it.”
He lowered himself into a chair at my bedside, and began to tell me the whole story.
Chapter 34
Zane
After I left Isabella at the hospital, I called Tommy and Ciro.
“We got your men,” Tommy said in a gruff voice. “We’re at the Mariner Motor Lodge, outside of Morris.”
He hung up with a sharp click. Adrenaline coiled in my stomach like a snake about to lunge for a rat, and I shivered. The Mariner Motor Lodge was owned by a family connected to the business. They had no problem letting their rooms for our occasional use, whether it was a coke-fueled party with hookers or an “interrogation.”
Tonight, it was going to be the latter.
I drove across town as fast as I could. The excitement and feeling of adrenaline was rushing through me, as powerful as a drug, more powerful than it should have been. I was elated. I couldn’t believe Jake and Rico had fallen for whatever bullshit stunt Ciro had pulled to get them back under control.
I grinned to myself. Isabella was safe, and now it was my time to play.
In the family, you didn’t fuck someone and run. That was the first lesson I’d learned that fateful night in the basement with Lionel and Gianni. You didn’t fuck someone, take their money, and expect to get away with it. On some level, maybe Jake wanted to get caught. He wouldn’t have ever done anything so dumb if he thought this would be the end of his life in the family. Hell, he probably even thought some would respect him for acting the way that he had.
“Boy, fuck, you were wrong,” I said, hooting with evil laughter. These men, who had ruined my life, who had killed my father and tried to kill my wife and child, these men weren’t going to live to see sunrise.
I pulled into the parking lot of the Mariner shortly after midnight. I saw Ciro’s black SUV parked in a corner of the lot, tinted windows shining in the light of the moon. Back when I’d found Isabella in the woods, it had been so cloudy it looked like rain. But now it was clear. The moon was bright, so bright I could see my shadow as I walked across the parking lot. The old pavement was cracked and weeds were growing through in places. It was a shitty, run-down motel, but I was glad for it.
My hand tightened around the pistol in my pocket as I climbed up the stairs and headed for room 202. That room was always available to the family; it was a room that had seen a lot of blood and pussy. And now it was about to see some pussies get bloody, I thought with a wicked grin. Jake was a fucking snake. He was going to get what was coming.
I burst in the door. To my surprise, Jake and Rico were sitting down, drinking beer. Ciro and Tommy were sitting on the beds, counting cash.
“Yo, Zane,” Ciro said with a grin. “We got ’em.” Before Jake and Rico could react, Ciro and Tommy pulled guns out of their waistbands and pointed them at Jake and Rico.
“Oh, fuck me!” Rico yelled. He dropped to his knees. “This ain’t fuckin’ fair! We was supposed to get some strippers up in this joint!”
I leaned down in his face and spat, covering his nose in slime. “You ain’t gonna see another stripper for the rest of your life,” I said through gritted teeth. “Not unless you wanna watch Jake work your pole.”
Rico shivered and I swung my arm back and cracked my fist into his face. I felt the bones of my knuckles meet the bones of his teeth, and he fell to the side, blubbering like a baby.
Jake was staring at me with a quiet hatred in his eyes. “I knew it would be you,” he said, looking straight at me. Even though I knew Jake and Rico were outnumbered, a small shiver of fear ran down my back. “I knew you’d come and fuck me in the end, brother.”
Crossing the room in two easy steps, I flung my hand across Jake’s face, slapping him as hard as I could. “Don’t ever call me brother, ever again,” I hissed. “You don’t deserve to call me brother. You stuck a knife in my father’s gut and left him to die in his own goddamn bed like an old maid.”
Rico looked up at me with yellowing eyes. “Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me, Zane. I’ll do anything you want. I’ll be loyal! I’ll do whatever! Bodyguard! Watch that blonde bitch of yours!”
I hit him again, this time with my fist, and watched him spit out a mouthful of teeth. “Don’t you ever call my wife a bitch again,” I said solemnly. “Or I’ll cut out your tongue, you understand?”
Jake was silent. From across the room, Tommy and Ciro nodded at me with approval.
“Tie them
up,” I snapped. “One at a time. Then bring Rico in the bathroom. We have a little business to discuss first.”
I went into the bathroom and sat on the closed toilet as I watched Tommy and Ciro bind Jake and Rico with their arms behind their backs.
“Gag Rico,” I said with a grin. “He’s got a nasty fuckin’ mouth on him.”
Rico tried to yell but Ciro stuffed a rag in his mouth, covering it with duct tape. I walked over and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him in the bathroom and closing the door behind me. When we were alone, Rico began to sob. I watched his fat, puffy face hyperventilate and finally, I reached forward and yanked the duct tape off his mouth.
“If you make a fucking sound, I’ll put this right back,” I threatened. “You don’t want to fuck with me, you got that?”
“I understand,” Rico said in a trembling voice. “What do you want with me?”
I paced a few steps back and forth. “I want to know why you got involved in this shit,” I hissed. “I want to know why you fucked with my wife.”
Rico looked at me with big, scared eyes. “I didn’t do anything,” he said, stammering like a fool. “It was Jake’s idea! All Jake’s!”
I laughed heartily. “You really are a son of a bitch, you know that?”
Rico looked at me. I could tell he was plainly terrified. “What? Why?”
“Because you fucking snitched on your man not ten minutes into this!” I said, gesturing around wildly. “You think you have what it takes to be a fucking hotshot Mafioso?”
Rico trembled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything.”
I laughed in his face, reaching back with my arm and swinging forward, cracking him hard in the face. Blood bubbled under Rico’s nose. “I don’t believe you,” I snapped. “You fucked with my wife. You’re gonna die, asshole, you know that?”
Rico swallowed hard. Blood was dripping from his nose. “I don’t know, man,” he said. “I don’t know!”
“You don’t know shit,” I said, kicking him to the side. Since his hands were bound behind his back, he flipped over and was prone on his side, wriggling around on the bathroom floor. “Stay here,” I ordered.
Opening the bathroom door, I walked back into the room and grabbed Jake by the collar until he stood up. We tussled like that for a moment until I punched him hard in the gut and he doubled over.
“Get in the bathroom,” I snarled. “I’m not fucking around, asshole.”
Jake glared at me. The disgust and hatred on his face was obvious. I could tell he wanted to kill me, or worse.
When we were in the bathroom, I pulled the tape off his mouth and stared into his beady dark eyes. “You hurt my wife,” I said in a deadly solemn tone. “You hurt my wife, and I want you to die.”
Jake opened his mouth to speak and I punched him hard, making him recoil. His eyes flew back in his head; blood trickled from his nose and mouth. I ran my hand under the faucet and flicked water on his face until he opened his eyes.
“She had it coming, that lazy slut,” Jake said. He cracked a grin at me and I punched him in the gut until he was crying out and whimpering like a baby.
“Don’t you ever talk about my wife like that,” I warned. I pushed Jake into the bathtub on his stomach. His hands were tied and purpling behind his back, bound tightly with a cord. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a pair of shears.
“I feel like taking a finger or two,” I said. “I mean, you hurt Isabella, so I’m going to hurt you now, Jake.”
Jake screamed into the dirty tub as I tightened the shears around his thumb and clamped down until the bone gave and it snapped off. Blood spurted from his hand and Jake was wailing loudly. A strong thrill of adrenaline rushed through my body.
“Tell me what you did,” I hissed under my breath. “Tell me. Tell me why.”
Reaching into the tub, I grabbed him and flipped him around so he was on his back with his bound hands underneath of him. There were delicate sprays of blood, like sea foam, coating the tile on the inside of the tub and Jake paled when he saw them.
“I need to know if Lionel set you up,” I said, drawing the shears down Jake’s chest and pressing down until a thin red line appeared in their wake. “I need to know if my own father betrayed me, or if it was just you, the sack of shit foster brother I grew up with.”
Jake swallowed hard. I could see the whites of his eyes bulging, and I could tell he was scared. “I wanted to be the leader,” he hissed, confirming my suspicions. “Lionel, that dumb fuck, always wanted you.”
Despite the anger surging through my body, a small part of me felt relieved. So, Lionel hadn’t wanted to betray me after all. He’d loved me. He’d known I was his true son.
“Is that so?” I jabbed the shears into Jake’s thigh. He cried out in anguish and blood soaked through the fabric of his pants, draining into the tub. Another surge of anger hit me and I stabbed harder, driving the sharp point of the shears down with as much pressure as I could apply.
“When I found out about your girl, I knew I could fuckin’ get a lot of money for her,” Jake said.
“That was a mistake,” I said solemnly. “That was a huge, huge mistake. And you are gonna regret that for the rest of your life, which is only going to be about ten minutes.” I pocketed the shears and opened the bathroom door. “Ciro, Tommy,” I barked. “Get these assholes into the back of your truck.”
Twenty minutes later, the five of us were in a field, near where Jake and Rico had dumped Isabella. They were on their knees, with their hands bound, in front of me. Rico was whimpering and praying in Spanish under his breath. Jake was staring straight ahead, his face white and bloodless.
“Are you both ready to say goodbye?”
Rico looked up at me, praying louder than before. I grabbed my gun and aimed it, taking the safety off. I shot him in the head and he crumpled to the ground like a doll.
Jake didn’t say anything. I walked up to him and inspected him from every angle. Even though he looked pathetic, I couldn’t drum up an ounce of sympathy for him. I couldn’t make myself care that he was bleeding and cold, not when he’d kidnapped my wife and made her suffer. He could have killed her.
“Goodbye, Jake,” I said softly as I fired the gun at his forehead.
“Yo, boss,” Ciro said. He and Tommy jogged over to me “What are you gonna go next?”
I put my lips in a thin line. “I’m going to see my wife,” I told him. “You clean this shit up.”
Chapter 35
Isabella
My mouth went dry as Zane told me the horrible story, from beginning to end. I couldn’t believe it; I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and sing really loudly to tune him out. But part of me was fascinated, like driving past a car crash and being unable to look away.
“And they’re dead?” My words came out as a rough whisper.
Zane nodded. “They’re gone,” he said, reaching over and putting a hand in my lap. “Ciro and Tommy took care of the bodies.” He looked at me. “I guess this leaves me in control of the family business.” Massaging my hands, Zane’s dark eyes found my own. “How do you feel?”
I bit my lip. “I’m exhausted,” I said softly. “I…” My voice trailed off. Suddenly, it didn’t matter. Well, it still mattered, but I realized there was no point in getting upset over something Zane had done. After all, just because he was my husband didn’t mean I could control his choices. And honestly, I was so angry at Jake and Rico that I thought they deserved it. They tried to hurt my baby. I could have forgiven them for taking me, but not for trying to hurt my baby.
Just then, a nurse came in. Tears welled up in my eyes when I thought she was going to tell Zane he had to leave. But instead, she smiled when she saw the two of us huddled so close together. “That’s cute,” she said. “Excited about the baby?”
I bit my lip again, remembering Zane’s reaction to my pregnancy. He hadn’t exactly been thrilled. Now I was worried that he didn’t care that much after al
l, that he’d only taken care of Jake and Rico to protect my honor.
“I’m thrilled,” Zane said. He reached forward and put a tender hand on my lower belly. “I can’t wait to meet my son.”
I shook my head. “No, we’re having a daughter,” I insisted, looking up at the nurse. “I can tell.”
The nurse chuckled. “When was the last time you had an ultrasound?”
“Um,” I looked away, feeling blood rush into my cheeks. “We haven’t had one yet,” I said softly. “There have been some…complications at home.”
“We need to get you booked, then,” the nurse chirped. “That’s important. Gotta make sure we have all the fingers and toes.”
I smiled wanly. “I think we have everything,” I said. “Ever since I got here, the baby’s been moving nonstop.”
