by Cin Medley
“While I was working for you and your brother, I had another job. I worked in a dive bar, the same one you were taking me to that day I freaked out on you. I couldn’t go there because Jerry would have recognized me and my cover would have been blown. McDonald, I knew from there. I knew he was Marciano’s main man, but no one had ever seen Marciano so I had no idea who he was. Paul, I never saw your brother in that bar, and I worked there for six months. It’s a whore house. I know because Jerry tried to sell me to some guy. I was the only one who didn’t have sex with the men for money. I think Jerry was sweet on me.”
“I know why I was suspect. I owned that bar. But McDonald was not my guy. You know my guys; you beat the shit out of two of them. So, Marciano was using my bar. This is too much like a set up. I know my brother is involved with this, I just don’t know how, but I don’t think he is Marciano. His identity is in your mind somewhere. Victoria, I think you’ve been allowed to live because you hadn’t figured it out yet. But he knows now that it’s just a matter of time before you do. Sweetheart, he’s a part of this, he’s on the inside, he knows you. You know him.”
She just sat there in a state of shock I think. “I need a minute.” I watched her get up and start walking back and forth. Her eyes closed. “Your brother, the files he gave me, they were your illegitimate businesses. But it didn’t make sense to me.”
“What other accounts did you work on?” I said softly.
“Your brother isn’t Marciano, but yes he is involved. He knew who I was.”
“He kept telling me to stay away from you. That he needed you, he showed me files, accounts you worked on. He told me to walk away from you. I think he killed my wife, because he couldn’t kill me. I think you were to fix whatever needed to be fixed and then he was going to kill you. He knew what losing Sylvia did to me. I think he was protecting me.”
“Makes, sense. You do know that I am going to kill him. He killed my brother and his wife. He nearly killed Jo.”
“I know, but I would like to talk to him first.”
She nodded and kept walking. Out of nowhere she spun around. “When they told me about Steven, there was another man in the room. I couldn’t see his face he was in the shadow’s. He didn’t talk while I was there. I passed out, from the shock of it all. When I started to come around, I heard a voice that I didn’t know, but felt familiar to me. He said, ‘We can’t tell her everything. She can never know everything. She needs to do this on her own. She needs to find the truth on her own.’ I remember now that it was so familiar to me. But with everything that was in my head, I pushed it aside.”
Her eyes, filled with tears. In the faintest of whispers, she said, “I know who Andy Marciano is.”
I was on my feet and she was in my arms. Her whole body was shaking; her sobs were like the day I found her on the beach. It took a long time for her to pull away. She put her hands on her knees and threw up all over the place. I didn’t know what to do so I just held her hips. She wiped her mouth and stood up. I watched as she physically changed in front of me. Her body got stiff, she squared her shoulders. Her head went back, her eyes closed. She stood there for a minute or two. Opening her eyes, she had a look in them that freaked me out.
“Excuse me for a minute,” she said in a dead cold tone. I watched as she walked away from me pulling a phone out of her back pocket. I heard it chime as she turned it on. She kept moving further away from me, I could see her dialing the phone, putting it to her ear. She just kept moving. I could hear her voice, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. She hung up and just stood there looking at me. I went to take a step and she shook her head. I stopped.
We stood staring at each other for a few minutes and then her phone rang. Her eyes not leaving mine as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. I saw her mouth move, she said ‘Thank you,’ then hung up the phone turning it off. I watched as she took a few deep breaths. Then she started towards me.
“Are you positive your brother won’t kill you?” She said in her dead cold voice.
“No. Victoria what just happened.” I touched her arm.
Her whole body was stiff. “Paul, we need to go.”
I laughed, “Beautiful, we aren’t going anywhere until you tell me what just happened.”
“I just figured out that my whole life has been one big fucking lie after another. I just figured out that it’s my life and I am fucking taking it back. Paul, I think I’m in love with you, and I am trusting that what you said to me was the truth. I need to have some truth.”
“Yes, it’s truth. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you and Jo.” I ran my fingers down her cheek. I watched as her eyes closed and she leaned in to my hand. “Talk to me beautiful.”
I watched as a tear fell on her cheek. “I can’t right now. But I will. Just give me some time. Please don’t change your mind.”
“Never,” I said as I kissed her. “Feel me, beautiful.”
“I do. But right now, I can’t trust how I feel. Don’t let me go. No matter what you see today, or what you hear, don’t let me go. Even if I kill your brother, which I’m not sure I’m not going to do.”
“I. Got. You. Beautiful.” I have no intentions on ever letting this woman go. I kissed her again. “Come on, let’s go end this and go get Jo and start our life.”
She nodded, I let her go and we walked back to the car. She stopped and looked at me. “Every single one of those men are dirty. Jacob, Al, the other two men at my apartment. I need for you to promise me, and mean it, that you won’t interfere in this. If I am in grave danger you will not try and stop it. Promise me Paul.”
I grabbed her pulling her into my arms, “God Victoria, I promise. But you promise me you will not put yourself in line to get dead.”
Her arms wrapped around me, “I promise,” she whispered. “This is going to get bad Paul, I mean really bad. Death will be everywhere. So be prepared.”
I nodded into her head. We released each other and we got in the car. “Where do I go?” I asked.
She directed me to her cottage, we stopped a few hundred yards down the road. She got out of the car and ran to some bushes along the road. When she came back she was carry a small duffle bag. Climbing in she opened the bag and pulled a few guns out and then clip after clip. She slipped them all over her body. “Do you know how to shoot?”
I had a stupid smile on my face, I grabbed her face and kissed her. “Yes.” She handed me two guns and a few handfuls of clips.
When we finished she pulled the phone out of her back pocket, turning it on. I watched as she flipped a text. Turning the phone off, she looked at me. “Let’s do this. Remember your promise Paul. You are going to see a part of me that no one sees. Please don’t freak out.”
“Got it.” If I’m being honest I am shitting in my pants. I am going into a gun fight. Fuck!
Chapter Nine
The closer we got the angrier I got. I am hoping that John will not kill his brother. I’m also hoping he doesn’t make him watch, while he kills me. I can’t let that happen. I found the man I think I’m supposed to be with. Looking at him, he smiles at me. He is so beautiful; this is going to destroy him.
I can see the roof line of the cottage, as we pulled up there weren’t any cars parked around. I’m really going to hate killing Al and Jacob. But they knew, they knew all along who I was searching for and they just let me go at it. I think the plan was to see if I could detect Mr. Marciano’s footprint in the world of crime.
If everything goes according to plan this should be over before it starts. Paul pulled up and parked where I told him. Looking at him I said, “You promised.”
He nodded, “As did you.”
I smiled, I wanted to kiss him but I would lose my edge if I did. Opening the car door, I waited for him to join me.
“So this is where you live?”
“It is. I love it here. There’s my garden.” I pointed to the lot of land that was my garden. When I had
a life here.
“I like it. This cottage is something out of a painting.”
I laughed, he got it. “It’s why I chose it. It reminds me of Monet’s…”
He interrupted me and said, “The Customs House at Varengeville. I have a reproduction of it in my apartment.”
“It’s one of my favorites,” I said as we rounded the cottage.
“Oh my god,” he said as he stopped.
I followed his eyes, and giggled, “I like the beach.”
He busted out laughing, “I should have known.”
I looked at him, “How could you have imagined this would be me?”
He pulled me into his chest whispering, “I’m terrified.” Kissing me sweetly.
“Me too. You ready?”
He shook his head, and I said, “Come on, I’ll show you the inside.”
The minute the door shut, I knew what was happening outside. Everything looked normal as we walked up, just as it does now. But nothing is as it seems. I squeezed Paul’s hand, when I heard the footsteps coming from the kitchen. It was the look on John Simon’s face that made me giggle.
“Paul? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Well, we just got married, and Suzanne was showing me her little cottage.” He squeezed my hand.
“Mr. Simon, why are you in my house? I don’t understand.”
His eyes cut through me like razor’s. “You didn’t show up for work, I was here on business so I thought I’d stop and see why you quit.” He had no knowledge of my life here. I had to smile. He just made a major mistake. He’s very scared right now.
“I didn’t quit.” Turning to Paul I said, “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“No, I didn’t want to tell him on the phone. But he said he was out of town.”
I turned back to John, “We are on our honeymoon. We are headed to Spain from here. He was supposed to tell you.”
I swear the man was going to have a stroke standing in my living room. Paul let go of my hand, when John stepped forward to hug him. I heard when he whispered to him, “Did you kill my wife John?”
I pulled a gun from my jeans and slid my hand down the front of his pants while Paul held onto him. “Don’t fucking move,” I whispered. “Paul turn him around.” As he turned him, I stepped between them and I wrapped my arms around him. I brought a gun up to his chin. “You killed my brother, and his wife. You care to tell me why?”
“I can’t,” he whispered.
I know he felt me smile on his neck, “Why, you afraid Marciano is going to kill you?” I giggled, “Don’t worry about that, because I’m going to do it for him.”
“You are not going to walk out of this house. Neither is my brother. You signed all of our death warrants.”
“Nope, just yours and his. The rest of them will spend their lives in prison. Do you even know who Marciano is?”
A man appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. “Did someone say my name?” I closed my eyes, this wasn’t the man in the room.
Paul drew one of his guns and pointed it at him. “You couldn’t possibly have enough guns or bullets to end this here.” He smiled.
I smiled at him, “Would you care to make a wager?” I moved my gun from John’s throat and shot the man in the head. Immediately shoving the nozzle against Johns neck.
I felt his body jerk from the pain of the heated metal. “I can do this all fucking day. Where is Marciano. I know he’s fucking here. I know he wouldn’t miss this.” I yelled out. I knew the fucker was here. He just didn’t know that I knew who he was.
“He’s not here!” John yelled.
“Oh John, I know him. I know he’s here. He wouldn’t miss this. Just like he didn’t miss it when my baby died. Just like he didn’t miss it when you killed my brother. He was right there watching. He isn’t going to miss this. I promise you, he’s here. I made sure of it.”
“Hey John,” Paul said. “Before we get started, I asked Victoria not to kill you before I had a chance to ask you why you killed my wife.”
“Marciano wanted me to kill you, I couldn’t kill you.”
“So you killed my wife and my unborn child?”
“She wasn’t any good for you.”
“Who are you? Why would you do this shit?”
He laughed, “For the money brother. And I just love the way the bodies feel when the life drains out of them.”
“You’re a sick fuck.” He leaned into me whispering in my ear, “I’m all right with you killing him now.”
“Thank you, baby.”
“Wait, wait, I can make this right.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Yeah no, I don’t think you can.” I pulled the trigger and shot off his dick. The screams were giving me a headache, so I snapped his neck and dropped him on the floor. It was then that I heard that voice.
“You really think I enjoyed watching your baby die?”
I don’t know what happened but I froze. I think that’s what he wanted. It was Paul’s hand on my lower back that snapped me back. He loves me. Fight for him, fight for Jo.
“I know you did. I remember seeing it in your eyes. Why did you do it?”
“I always hated that about you. That you remember everything. I knew eventually you were going to die, and I couldn’t leave a poor defenseless child in this world alone.”
“Ah, but Mr. Marciano. Isn’t that exactly what’s going to happen to you?”
I could feel his rage, even his voice changed as he laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I giggled, raising my gun. “Oh, you certainly do.” I pulled the trigger, the bullet went through the living room wall. I heard him grunt, when it went into his shoulder. “You most certainly do.”
The front door opened, as did the back door. I yelled, “Don’t kill him.”
Paul wrapped his arm around me pulling me against him. Stepping back against the wall. I wanted to run in the other room and see his face. But I knew I would just kill him and I didn’t want my house to be the sight of his murder. We stood there listening to the scuffle, punches being thrown, glass being broken. I didn’t move, I just leaned into Paul and breathed in his scent.
When I saw him, I heard myself say, “Daddy,” and I ran to him, jumping in his arms. The tears just came. I couldn’t hold them in any longer.
“Come on baby girl, let’s get you out of here.” He scooped me up and carried me out the front door, across the front lawn to the picnic table. “I knew you were a smart girl. How did you know?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Oh, by the way, you’re fired. Never again Victoria, never again. You’ve got to raise Jo. This is it. I don’t want to see your name cross my desk again.”
I nodded. “Did you get them all?”
“We got them. This went deep. He had shit on all of them.” Paul cleared his throat and I smiled. My dad turned around, “Mr. Simon.”
“Sir,” he nodded.
“I’ve managed to clean up your life for you, and I’m trusting you’re going to do right by my daughter and granddaughter.”
Paul looked at me, “If she’ll let me. She has a bit of a stubborn streak in her.”
My dad laughed, “Yeah, she gets that from her mother. It’s good to meet you son. You make sure to take care of my girls.”
“I will do my best sir, and thank you for all your help.”
My dad turned to me. “I suppose you want to take care of this?”
I nodded. “I have to daddy. I don’t want to, but I have to.”
“Good shot by the way.”
“I knew he was there. Hey, do you think you can fix my wall before you go? I don’t want to have to explain it to Jo.”
He laughed. I heard the struggle across the lawn. “Will you excuse me? I need to take care of something.”
When I walked by Paul, he looked at me, his hand coming up to my face, “You all right?”
“I will be. Remember you promised.”
“I did.”
As I walked away I heard my dad say, “What did you promise.”
Paul laughed, “Not to interfere.”
I heard my dad laughing all the way across the lawn.
“Excuse me, can I have a few minutes please?”
One of the guys let him go, “He’s all yours.”
“I don’t even know what to say to you.” I said.
“Don’t say a fucking word. This isn’t over you know.”
“Yes, it is.” I punched him in the stomach. “Why?” I shouted.
Paul went to move and my dad stopped him. “This needs to happen.”
“So I could keep track of you.”
“Why did you kill my baby?”
“I didn’t want a fucking baby with you.”
I drop kicked him in the jaw. He fell over on the ground.
“Fucking bitch, take the cuffs off me.”
I looked up, “Un-cuff him.”
“Victoria, NO!” Paul yelled.
My dad grabbed him, “She’s got this.”
“He’s three times her size. He’ll kill her.”
“He’s her ex-husband.” My dad said. “He has this coming.”
I watched as one of the men un-cuffed him. The minute his hands were free he swung at me. “I’m going to finally be free of you, you little bitch.”
I moved away from him, “Why Steven? I loved you.”
“The only way to control you was to marry you.”
“It’s a shame you know. That your child is going to grow up without a father.”
He laughed, “There is no child, it was all a rouse. I needed you to lose your focus. So I could get the upper hand.” I tilted my head. “I knew you were still in love with me. I knew it would devastate you.”
