by Lily Knight
I hesitated before answering. Was I really doing this? Is this what it had come to? But then Delia's words echoed in my head again, and I knew that I was doing the only thing that I could do under the current circumstances.
“Yes,” I typed in. “I'm sure. There's been a huge family emergency. I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to discuss that, but trust me when I say that I'll take pretty much any offer on the place.”
“Alright, if you're sure about that then I can come over to the diner tomorrow morning and take some pictures, write up a description and get the word out that the place is for sale.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “The earlier the better, if that's alright.”
“Sure thing Bethany. I'll try get there around eight in the morning.”
“See you then. Bye.”
“Bye, have a good night.”
“Playin' on your phone back there?” joked Tino from the front as he drove.
I laughed dryly – if he knew what I had just done, he wouldn't be smiling. But he didn't know, he had no idea in fact, so I kept up the illusion.
“Yeah, just playing around on my phone.”
There was one more person I needed to get hold of, but it would have to wait until the next morning, and thinking about it made me feel awful. Selling the diner would mean putting Manny out of work, and it was going to kill me to tell that poor old man, who was like family to me, that the diner was going to be gone in a day or two. But it had to be done; there was no way around this. I resolved, at least, to give him a couple of months' worth of pay from the money I got from selling the diner, so that he would be able to support himself while looking for another job. I sighed and shook my head, not looking forward to the next morning. Life had gone crazy, once again... and all I could do was try to ride out the storm.
“Is somethin' the matter back there?” asked Tino. “You don't look too happy all of a sudden.”
I looked up and saw his eyes on me, looking at me via the rear-view mirror.
“Just a bit too much champagne,” I lied. “I'm feeling a bit queasy. Let's get back home soon so that I can lie down.”
“Sure thing Bethany, sure thing,” he said with a sympathetic smile.
We drove the rest of the way in silence, and a soon as we got back I said a hasty goodnight to Tino and headed to my room. As soon as I closed the door I got to packing. I knew that I could only take the most essential items with me; if I took a whole bunch of suitcases with me to the diner tomorrow, Tino would realize that something was up. So, with that in mind, I spent the rest of the night sorting my things out into what I had to take – things like my passport, some old family photos of my mom and dad and me as a kid, my nicest clothes, and the few items of jewelry I possessed. Everything else I would simply have to abandon.
After a few hours of sorting and packing I crawled into bed, exhausted, and soon fell asleep, despite my lingering worry over the day ahead.
THE NEXT DAY
I spent a very uncomfortable few seconds riding down in the elevator with Ben. He seemed to sense that something was up with me. Well, I guess it wasn't a surprise that he could see that there was a problem. I was feeling pretty damn antagonistic toward him, and was finding it difficult to disguise those feelings. We parted ways as soon as the elevator doors opened out into the parking garage. He walked away, and so did I – but then I turned and threw a glance over my shoulder. And who did I see standing next to him, kissing his neck and whispering in his ear but Delia freakin' Grant. And he did nothing to push her away; in fact, he seemed to be enjoying the attention she was giving him. I didn't need to see any more; I knew it all now. He was probably still sleeping with her, that asshole, that lying, cheating asshole! I stormed off without looking back again and went straight to the SUV.
“Why are you takin' that suitcase to the diner?” asked Tino, staring suspiciously at my stuffed suitcase as he opened the SUV door for me.
I had known that he was going to ask this question, so I had prepared an answer.
“It's just some old stuff that I'm donating to charity. A guy is gonna come around to the diner and pick it up.”
“Oh okay. Makin' some space in the closets for all the new stuff Ben is gonna buy you huh?” he said with a grin.
“Yeah, that's it,” I said, hoping that the smile I put on didn't come off as looking too fake.
We got the diner, and Tino helped me to get the suitcase inside. Now the next problem was getting him out of here for when Jim was going to arrive. If he saw Jim taking pictures of the place he would know for sure that Jim wasn't some charity guy coming to pick up my “old clothes”.
“Oh no!” I said, “I've forgotten one suitcase back at the penthouse! Please can you go back and get it?”
Tino frowned.
“You know I ain't supposed to leave you here by yourself.”
“Manny is in the kitchen, and he's got his gun.”
Tino looked through to the kitchen and saw Manny whistling as he got things ready for the day.
“Can't it wait?”
I shook my head.
“This guy from the charity is coming from all the way across town to pick things up, and he's gonna be here at nine.”
I said nine deliberately – if Tino knew that Jim was supposed to show up in a couple of minutes, he wouldn't bother going back.
“I really ain't supposed to leave you though,” said Tino, looking uneasy. “I mean, you do remember what happened last time I left you here by yourself, right?”
A shudder of fear rippled through me as I thought about the ambush from the CM guys. I knew that I would be taking that risk again with Tino gone, but there was no other way to do this. If he saw a property agent looking at the diner and taking photos he would call Ben up right away, and then there would be no escape for me, none whatsoever.
“Look, those CM gangsters haven't been here for many weeks now. They've probably given up on this place and moved on to terrorize someone else. Please just do this for me Tino. Please... I don't ask you for much. Just do this one thing for me, as a friend. I promised the guy two suitcases, and he was so excited about it. He's gonna be pretty disappointed when he gets here and finds out that there's only one.”
Tino looked uncomfortable with this idea, but he nonetheless nodded.
“Alright, alright,” he said. “I'll go get it. Where is it?”
“Just inside my bedroom, next to my bed.”
There was actually a suitcase there, one that I had left there on purpose. While I had all of my most essential belongings with me in this suitcase, I had put some clothes that I really liked but that weren't essential in the second suitcase.
“Okay. I'll go get it. But keep your eyes open and if you see anything suspicious call me right away, and no matter where I am I'll do a U-turn and speed right back here. You got it?”
“I got it,” I said, nodding.
Tino took off, and I hurried straight over to the kitchen. I would have to tell Manny now – there would be no other chance to tell him.
“Manny,” I said, “could I have a quick word with you?”
“Sure, Miss Verde,” he said with a smile. “What do you wanna talk about?”
“I'm just gonna cut straight to the point,” I replied, feeling a stab of both pain and nervousness ripping through me as I spoke. “I'm selling the diner and leaving Detroit, as soon as possible – hopefully in the next day or two.”
His jaw dropped and he stared at me with his mouth open and his eyes wide with surprise for what felt like an eternity.
“Miss Verde,” he eventually mumbled, “you're... you're sellin' up an' movin' on? In... in a day or two?”
I nodded, feeling an uncomfortable heat reddening my cheeks.
“I'm afraid that's what's happening, Manny. I have no other choice; it's the only thing I can do.”
“B-, but business was getting' good these last couple a' weeks,” he said, still totally shocked. “We was doin' good business at the diner here, w
hy you gots ta' sell up?”
“I'm sorry Manny, I really am. I wish there was another way for me to fix things, to go on living here, but there really isn't. You see, if I don't sell this diner, it's going to be taken from me, and then I'll get nothing, and on top of that, I'll be someone's slave. Selling the diner now and taking the money and going somewhere far away is about the only option I have to salvage this wreck that my life has become.”
He shook his head, and I could see that there were tears forming in his eyes.
“What I'm on' do? What I'm on' do?” he murmured, shaking his head. “Tomorrow or the next day, I ain't gon' have no job no mo'... what I'm on' do?”
“Don't worry Manny,” I said. “I know that this is grossly unfair on you, and you're like family to me. I hate having to do this, I really do, but I'm not going to leave you out in the cold. 'm going to give you three months' worth of pay from whatever I get from the sale of the diner so that you'll be able to support yourself and be financially okay while you look for a new job.”
“Thanks Miss Verde, I really appreciate that,” he said. “Really, I do. I just... I'm sad Miss Verde. I know that you must gots ta' be doin' this fo' a real good reason, because this place, it's all that's left in this world of yo' mama, who you loved so much. So, I know... I know that things have gots ta' be real serious fo' you ta' have ta' be doin' somethin' like this. I just... I'm just heartbroken, Miss Verde. This diner, it ain't jus' a job fo' me, it's my life as much as it is yours. I put my heart an' soul inta' this place, just like you done. An' now... now it's gon' be all gone.”
I pulled Manny close to me and hugged him tightly, and he put his arms around me and hugged me right back.
“I'm so sorry Manny,” I said as tears started rolling down my cheeks. “I don't want to do this, I really don't, but I've just been pushed too far now. There is no way out, there's nothing else I can do. As awful as this is... it's the only way out for me now. It's the only way.”
Just then, I heard a knock on the back door. It had to be Jim. Still, since Tino wasn't here, I decided to be extra cautious.
I dried off my eyes, and then walked over to the back door.
“Who's there?” I asked.
“It's me, Jim,” said Jim.
I looked through the peephole and saw that it was indeed Jim. I opened the door for him – and then, suddenly, strong hands reached in and grabbed me, yanking me out into the alley. Before I could scream a hand was clamped over my mouth, preventing me from making any sound. With panic and terror pumping through my veins I looked up and saw that one of the CM guys had been hiding behind Jim, pressing a gun up against the back of his head.
“I'm sorry Bethany,” said Jim, whose hands were shaking violently with fear. “They said they were gonna kill me if I didn't call you to the back door. I'm sorry, I'm-”
The CM guy behind Jim smacked him in the back of his head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him out and cutting him off mid-sentence. Jim slumped to the ground, unconscious, and the CM guy pointed his gun at me.
“Well well well,” said a familiar voice in my ear. “What have we got here?”
Tyrese Wilson.
“You thought you was safe, didn't you?” he snarled in my ear. “You thought that we wasn't watchin' yo' diner no mo', right? Well we was, an' now we saw us a lil' opportunity – a lil' chance to get to know you better. Oh yes, Bethany, you an' I is about ta' get ta' know each other real well... real intimate like... Mm yeah, I been watchin' that sweet white booty a' yours fo' a long time, a long time now... and now I'm on' make this tight, sexy lil' white ass a' yours mine... all mine.”
I tried to scream, but his hand was clamped tight over my mouth, and it was impossible to make any sound. I struggled, but he had my arm gripped in some sort of tight lock behind my back which sent intense blasts of pain shooting up my arm every time I moved.
“Don't try fight me,” he growled in my ear, “coz I'll break yo' damn arm. An' if you keep fightin', I'll break yo' other arm. I don't need yo' arms to work, bitch, I just need yo' pussy. Now, let's go – right there, behind the damn dumpster. An' this time, ain't nobody gon' save you...”
He started manhandling me, shoving me over to the dumpster where he and his friend were going to... I couldn't even think of what was about to happen to me. It felt totally unreal, like a complete nightmare. I kept on half-expecting to wake up from it – but there wouldn't be any waking up from this. This was a nightmare I’d never be rid of if I survived it.
He got me over to the dumpster, and then his accomplice pulled out a roll of duct tape from his jacket. Tyrese then shoved a rag into my mouth as his accomplice pressed a piece of duct tape over the rag to hold it there.
“You ain't gon' be makin' no sound, bitch,” Tyrese snarled. “And you gon' take what I'm gon' give you now... every damn inch a' it.”
“You won't be giving her a damn thing, asshole!” a new voice called out – a familiar voice. Ben’s voice. “But I'm gonna give you somethin'!”
Tyrese let me go and spun around and tried to draw his firearm, but it was too late for him – Ben already had his .45 aimed at him, and he fired it. The shot boomed through the alley, and Tyrese's knee exploded in a spray of blood. He dropped his gun and fell to the ground, screaming and clutching at his shattered knee. His accomplice pulled out his own gun and tried to take a shot at ben, but Ben was too fast. He’d already swung his gun around and had it aimed at the man. Ben fired two shots, both of which caught him in the chest. The heavy bullets smashed through the man and took him off his feet, and he collapsed, dead no doubt.
Ben rushed over to me, pulled the duct tape from my mouth, and removed the rag. His arms wrapped tightly around me. As he hugged me, tears started to pour down my cheeks as I wept uncontrollably. Through my crying, I saw Tyrese grab his gun and lift it to aim at Ben.
“Ben! Look out!” I screamed and tried to get Ben to move, but before I could say anything else a tremendous boom rang out as another gunshot ripped through the alley. Tyrese screamed again. It hadn’t been Tyrese shooting his gun at Ben. No, it was Tino – and his shot caught Tyrese in the hand he was holding his gun in. The firearm flew from his grasp.
Tino ran over to Tyrese, his gun aimed at him as Tyrese writhed and moaned in agony on the ground.
“Tino,” I said through my sobs, “I thought... I thought that you went back... to...”
“To get your suitcase?” he said. “Sorry, Bethany, but I knew that whole thing was bullshit. I ain't as dumb as I look, you know. When we was on the way here, I noticed you was actin' strange, so I quietly messaged Ben and told him something was up with you, and that he'd better get his ass over here. And when I drove off, I just parked a block away where you couldn't see me, and walked over to a hiding place nearby.”
I felt so incredibly relieved – but I also felt so stupid. How had I thought that this plan of mine would ever work? I had been an idiot for thinking that. But thank God it hadn't worked, because if Tino really had gone, something truly terrible and horrifying would be happening to me right now.
“You and I need to talk,” Ben said gently. “Come, let's go upstairs to the apartment where we'll have some privacy.”
I nodded.
“Tino,” he said, “you stay out here and keep an eye on things. And maybe give our friend Tyrese here a few kicks and punches to make sure he don't go nowhere... even though I don't think he'll be goin' too far with a busted kneecap. We'll deal with him when I'm done talking to Bethany.”
Tino nodded, and Ben and I went upstairs.
We sat down in the only two chairs left in the apartment, and then Ben glared at me with an intense look in his eyes.
“What on earth were you doing, Bethany? What the hell has gotten into you? And why is there an unconscious real estate agent outside in the alley? Yeah, I know who Jim is, I've bought a few properties through him before. You think you could sell this place without telling me?”
“You left me no other option!” I sa
id, my anger aroused and Delia's words burning in my ears. “I heard the truth about you, Ben, and I saw the plans!”
“What truth? What plans?”
“The plans for your casino – and some restaurant that you want to open! That's why you pulled this whole thing with me, this whole story with Sal making that contract with you! You just wanted the diner, and I was just a pawn in your sick little game!”
“Where are you getting this idea from, Bethany?”
“Delia told me! Yes, that whore of yours, Delia!”
Ben sighed and shook his head.
“That stupid bitch,” he muttered. “Look, why the hell would you believe anything she says anyway?”
“I saw you! I saw you and her in the parking lot this morning! She was all over you and you were enjoying it! Don't even try to deny it, because I'm not blind!”
He sighed again. “You didn't watch all of it then,” he said. “Because I sure as hell wasn't 'enjoying' that! I was just shocked for a second when she came up to me and wrapped her damn arms around me! If you'd watched any longer, you would have seen me shove her away. And if you don't believe I did that, we can go back to the building right now and watch the security camera footage that I know is always taping in that parking lot. That'll show you that things happened exactly how I said they did.”
I folded my arms across my chest and pouted.
“Well, what about the casino, and the plans for this new restaurant? You can't deny that Ben! And there's only one reason why you would have been keeping all of that a secret from me!”
“You're right,” he admitted. “I was keeping it secret from you – but not for the reason you think. No. The reason is... I want it to be your restaurant.”
I was not expecting that.
“Wait... what? My restaurant?”
He nodded, sincerity in his eyes.
“Yes. We would totally revamp this place, and turn it from a run of the mill diner into a top-class restaurant. I've seen how much you’ve enjoyed cooking. You've been experimenting with new recipes, with modifying my ma's recipes over the past few weeks, and I know how incredibly fantastic your food is. Hell, Tino talks all the time about those amazing dishes of yours that he gets to sample! But I realized early on that you couldn't serve food like that in a plain old diner. It would have to be served in a classy restaurant with modern décor and well-dressed waiters, with premium prices. So, that's what I'm planning to build – and it'll be all yours to run as you like. I know it’s not the diner, but it will be yours. And hell, your old friend Manny, he can work there too. The casino is my project, and I'll be running that. But this restaurant, this is my gift to you. And it was a secret because it was going to be a surprise. I wanted it to be a . . . a wedding gift. From me to you.”
