“I don’t understand -”
“You’ll thank me for it, just go.” She pointed in front of her as if he needed the direction.
“Not until you tell me.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Jane, I’m not moving this car until you tell me -”
“Fine! He was spanking his…you know. Get it? Choking it…burping the worm? Ugh…” She let loose a repulsed sigh.
“What? How do you know that?”
“I ahhh…” Oh, stupid mouth… “I heard him and I kind of…saw him…in the back room,” she lied.
She turned to see him look at this hand in disgust.
“Yeah, right? So let’s just…do you have a wet nap in here?” Immediately her hand reached out and pressed the button for his glove compartment. It opened revealing a handgun, some rope…She quickly slammed it shut her eyes were large as saucers and aimed ahead of her.
At least he was motivated to drive the car. The scenery passed a bit quicker than when they drove in, evidently. They passed the liquor store on the corner and she breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he didn’t know she had delivered there? If Leo hated her, well that guy…that guy probably wouldn’t even let her two steps into the store without tossing her out. What did I say to him? What did I…
“We’ll come back for that one,” he stated without looking at her.
Damn.
“We’ll hit Rupeshs’s Mini Mart next.”
Rupesh. I like Rupesh.
Rupesh was in the category of the truly good. Hard to believe that Rupesh would knowingly be involved in drug trafficking. He was just a sweet old man who never once revealed anything that would cause her alarm. At least this visit would go better than the first one, she was sure.
“And this time, please don’t tell them you’re knocked up, OK? If you want a scumbag to hide the whereabouts of another scumbag, tell them you’re pregnant,” He quipped sarcastically, breaking into her thoughts.
“I was nervous! He threw it out there and I thought…Ok, I didn’t think,” she stated quietly after a moments’ hesitation.
He was turning right on Michigan Avenue, careful to use only his left hand on the steering wheel, she noticed. His right hand lay on his lap, clenching and unclenching. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. He did stuff her in a trunk, but no one deserved to have the remnants of Leo’s love juice germs crawling over the surface if their skin.
Her eyes darted up to his profile as he concentrated on the road before them. “Can I ask how you got into this line of work?”
“It’s a long story,” was his immediate reply.
That was helpful.
“Can I ask why you’re looking for Rick? You said it was personal. What happened?”
“None of your business.”
“See? I think it is my business. You made it my business when you kidnapped me. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you at least tell me what the hell is going on -”
“Knock, knock.”
“What? Are you telling me a knock, knock joke?” At the nod of his head she answered, although her facial expression displayed total confusion.
“Who’s there?”
“The trunk.”
“The…” dawning lit her features and she rolled her eyes. “Never mind. You’re so stupid,” she blurted in a dry tone.
She watched as his lips worked so hard to remain in a straight line before the side visible to her lifted slightly.
What a weirdo.
*****
“Oh! Miss Jane. Don’t you look different! Nice! Am I getting delivery?” Rupesh’s dark, weathered features crinkled into a smile, revealing white teeth.
“No. Ahh…I’m looking for Rick,” she stated quietly as the customer before her grabbed his lottery tickets from under the heavy plexi-glass and wandered toward the front door.
Immediately his jovial smile was gone and his thick salt and pepper colored eyebrows slammed together. “I do not like Rick. Rick is bad man,” he stated in his heavy accent. “Here. You want meat stick? You very skinny.” He was pushing a brightly colored plastic tube of meat under the heavy see-through, probably bullet proof wall protecting him from his customers.
“Umm…Ok. Thanks.” She immediately grabbed the package.
“Why you want to find him? You better off without him. You so lovely. He only want to drink and stay out all night. He take Sanjay out. He stay out all night, no help to me now. He get home at same time I go to work. I say… ‘You live in my house, you come home at good hour.’ He don’t listen. He was good boy before Rick. You better off,” he stated with a firm nod.
Sanjay was Rupesh’s Grandson. Every time she made a delivery for Rick, Sanjay was always present.
“So…where have they been going? Royal Oak? Rick always liked Royal Oak,” she led, hoping for anything. Maybe Sanjay didn’t tell him where he went, maybe he did.
The sound of a door slamming somewhere behind her caused her head to turn back to see Pete wander from the restroom and peruse the shelves casually.
“No. I think Ferndale? Pasha grab a napkin from his pants with a phone number written on it. He is meeting girls at bar,” he stated then let out a disgusted snort.
“Do you know which bar? I mean, I really need to talk to Rick -”
“I have nice girl, straight from Kolkata, smart girl. She go to the Wayne State. She good with numbers and he say, ‘No, no. I too young’. He is twenty three! I kick him out of house. He can go live someplace else if he keep this up,” he continued, ignoring her question as his hands gestured wildly.
“Do you know which bar? What did the napkin say?”
“I don’t know, I ask Pasha. I still do not know why you like this Rick…You find better man. Pretty girl like you -”
“We broke up, that’s why I need to find him. I want to give him some…stuff back.”
“This stuff, it is expensive?”
“Uhh…yeah, sure -”
“You sell on the E-bay. Make some money. He is kuttā.”
“Nah, I just -”
“You!” He was looking beyond her, his eyes were sharp. “You here to rob me or buy something?” he yelled.
She turned her head to see Pete look up between the small rows of shelves. He shot a narrow eyed glare before shrugging and looking back down. The small store was full of junk food. He was probably reading the labels on everything and shuddering internally. Mr. ‘My Body is a Temple’…
“You should probably go. This is bad area for girl like you all alone.,” he spoke quietly, his face leaning in toward the series of holes drilled into the thick plexi-glass.
“The bar -” she prompted before he waved her off.
“I ask Sanjay, maybe he come to work today, maybe not.”
“No! I mean, no…I don’t want Rick to know I’m looking for him. I want to…surprise him. You know? Could you just call Pasha?”
The old man seemed to consider the request for a slight moment before turning and grabbing the phone from the wall behind him.
He dialed and waited before rattling off something in his native tongue as she felt a definite presence behind her. She didn’t need to look.
Rupesh hung up and turned toward her once again.
“She say ‘Eden’. Do you know of this place?”
Damn. Pete was going to want to pay the place a visit, she was sure. Her body gave an involuntary shiver of revulsion just thinking about it.
“Yeah. Hey…thanks, Rupesh.” She backed up, straight into Pete’s hard body before sidestepping nervously. Something was crunching in his hand as he extended his arm and placed something on the counter in front of the clear barrier.
“You find good man!” Rupesh was pointing his finger at her and wagging it.
“Ok!” she responded with fake enthusiasm before pushing the heavy glass door open with her rear end and giving him a wave. The sleek black Town Car was parked at the end of the small lot and her feet wandered toward it. It was the perf
ect opportunity to run, maybe hide in one of the abandoned or partially burned out houses lining the small side street jutting off the main road, but what was the point? Three square meals- albeit healthy ones, a real mattress to sleep on…her life was so unfortunate that she should even consider captivity a better prospect than her freedom.
Pete joined her a few short moments later, hitting a button on his key fob to unlock the door with a quick flash of the headlights. Her hand reached out and grasped the knob without a moment’s hesitation. Settling in, she opened the small plastic package and peeled it down revealing the small red tube, glistening with oil.
“What is that? Don’t eat that.”
She bit off a large chunk and chewed, swatting his hand away as he made a grab for the package.
“It’s good!” she garbled, shifting her small frame away as far as the seatbelt would allow.
“It’s processed meat covered in grease. That’s not good. Your arteries are screaming right now.”
“Maybe, but my stomach’s saying ‘hell yeah’. Leave me alone. I don’t make fun of your food choices,” she stated in a surly tone, swallowed and took another bite.
He had an uncanny ability to mask his emotions immediately after revealing them, she noticed in the small amount of time they had spent together. The glare he shot was deadly then quickly replaced by bland, almost bored as his eyes shot toward the ceiling and back down. It was like he was counting to ten in his head or something.
“What did you get?” What is that? Granola?” The small bag lay on the console between them. “You got granola? You’re making fun of me? Look, it’s got like a quarter inch of dust on it.”
“Jane…” he started but never finished the impending lecture because a strange digital bleat filled the small space of the car.
“Hmmm…” He grabbed a small black device from his coat pocket and flipped it open as he settled himself facing forward in his seat.
“What’s that?” she asked after taking another bite.
It was apparent he was ignoring her as he read a small screen. She craned her neck to view the readout but the only thing visible was a series of numbers and spaces. Obviously he wasn’t too worried about her reading it, it was undecipherable to her anyway, but not to him. His lips were moving but no sound was forthcoming. What the hell?
“What is that?” she asked again, this time it just sort of popped out.
“Shhh,” he responded without looking at her.
She bit off another hunk and settled back in the seat. What was she thinking? Of course he wasn’t going to tell her. In the whopping amount of time they knew each other, he was much more demanding that she answer his questions while revealing little to nothing about himself. Other than his profession, of course, but it didn’t take a genius to figure that one out.
The small device was placed back in his coat pocket and his arm reached out to turn the key in the ignition as he shot a glance her way. He was thinking about something or debating internally.
“What?” she asked with a full mouth.
His eyes remained on hers as one side of his mouth disappeared behind his teeth as he concentrated.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He looked behind him before shifting the car in reverse and backing out slowly before driving to the entrance of the parking lot.
“So, where are we headed now?”
He didn’t answer. He turned left onto Michigan Ave. driving a few blocks before making a left on the Service Drive that ran parallel with I-96.
“Are you going to speak?” she asked, probing his profile closely.
“Don’t worry about me; you just keep clogging your arteries over there,” he muttered without looking at her. A few blocks later and he was turning on Martin Luther King Jr., headed toward the entrance ramp of the freeway.
“Are we going out of town? Most of my deliveries were in the city, you know…”
Still no answer. It was quite frustrating to say the least.
She settled back in the leather seat, watching the other cars, the passing scenery of burned out buildings and houses, the occasional business or boarded up warehouse.
He was merging onto I-94. Maybe they were headed back to the cabin? Not that she would know, because apparently he wasn’t going to speak.
Annoying man.
“I’m going to park the car and you’re going to sit inside and not move, OK?” he finally stated as he exited the freeway near Mt. Elliott. “Otherwise, I’ll just toss you in the trunk. What’s it gonna be?”
“No trunk. I’m cool,” she stated quickly before shoving the last piece of beef stick in her mouth. He drove a few more blocks before turning on to Grand Ave. and if she was confused before, she was thoroughly baffled as he turned right on to Bellevue St. The old Packard Plant loomed next to them and he drove past two of the huge, crumbling buildings before turning into what was once a parking lot now overtaken by weeds and the occasional tree bursting up through the cracked and distorted concrete. He maneuvered the vehicle between two of the buildings and the decay that could be seen from the street was nothing compared to the back of the buildings as he swung around and stopped the car.
“I’ll be right back. Stay put.” He gave her his signature scowl complete with piercing eyes before grabbing the door handle and pushing the door open.
The large car shook as the door slammed shut and his arm rose at the elbow as he walked toward one of the buildings. The horn sounded and the locks clicked causing her to immediately grab the handle and test it. Sure enough, the handle wouldn’t give. He must have modified the car to do that. Unless, of course, car companies were now offering the ‘kidnapper special’ option - which was highly doubtful.
She watched as he wandered through the gaping hole in brick façade, disappearing seconds later into the bowels of what was once a rather impressive series of buildings back in the early 1900’s. Questions ran through her head but it was pointless to even think about it. He wouldn’t tell her anyway, she was positive of that fact. Her eyes took a casual look around the pristine interior of the vehicle netting not a single loose article or any other clue to the man that practically barged his way into her life and technically took it over. Her hand reached out to pop the latch on the glove compartment. Almost as soon as it popped, she looked up to find him stepping out of the building and walking toward her. His right hand was tucking something into his jacket and she could clearly see his head swivel back and forth scanning the area behind his dark sunglasses as he quickly walked toward the car. He moved with such fluid grace, like a panther stalking prey, ready to pounce…it was kind of sexy. And… this string of thoughts was completely inappropriate based on the situation…
She pushed the compartment closed with a click before settling her hands back on her lap innocently. She watched his approach, surprised when he didn’t walk to the driver’s side. He was clearly headed for her side.
Oh no.
He was going to kill her and dump her body in the Old Packard Plant. This was it. He hadn’t exactly agreed to her request for a gentle death, and why would he? Did she have enough time to grab the gun from the glove compartment? Could she even fire it if she did grab it? Her experience with guns was nonexistent. Never shot one, never held one. Hell, she’d probably end up shooting herself…
The door locks disengaged with a sickening click and the door swung open immediately.
“Trunk time,” he announced with a jovial tinge to his tone.
She blinked a few times to let his words settle in. Of course he wouldn’t kill her, at least not yet. He bought her clothes. If he was going to kill her immediately why would he have bought so many? Her eyes lifted to see him leaning his arm on the roof of the car, the other arm draped over the passenger door casually.
“Come on, Jane. Out you go -”
“I…I believe I’ve already proven that I’m going to cooperate. I’ve been very good. I have had at least three opportunities to escape today and I haven’t taken
any of them,” she announced.
“I know and I am so damn proud of you.” He stated with feigned praise. “Now get your ass out of the car,” he continued, changing his tone to flat.
She swung her legs out after an exaggerated sigh escaped her lips.
“Do you think there might be a point where I actually get to sit in the car the whole trip? I’m not going to escape, I don’t have any money, I probably don’t have an apartment or at least my crap has already been tossed in the alley for all I know, this is the most food I’ve ever eaten in a twenty-four hour period and my hair looks awesome. Oh! And these jeans seriously rock,” she stated as she sat half in the car, half out.
“I saw the eviction notice. How can you not have any money? I clearly saw you rifling through Mr. Patterson’s wallet. What do you do with that money?”
“It’s stupid,” she stated quietly, her eyes cast down.
“What’s stupid? Are you buying drugs?”
“No.”
“Booze?”
“Nope.”
“Adding to your collection of troll dolls? Because that would be stupid.”
She stood up abruptly causing him to take a step back.
“I’ll just get in the trunk.”
Chapter 4
“I need to work. Why don’t you go upstairs and amuse yourself?” Actually, it wasn’t a question. It was an order disguised as a question. He pulled a laptop from a black bag and set it on top of the kitchen island. She stared at it, confused. What kind of work would a hit…person do on a computer?
“What’s that for?” She nodded her head toward the laptop on the counter. His answer was silence accompanied by the ever-popular raised eyebrow.
A brief moment lapsed before her eyes wandered up toward the loft. “Do you have a TV?”
“No.”
“All right. Ahh…what am I supposed to do to amuse myself?” Her eyes darted around the perimeter of the cabin seeking any source of entertainment and coming up with absolutely nothing.
“Read. You can read, right?”
She cocked her head to the side and shot a scowl in his direction.
“Come on.” He was smiling and for a second, it almost seemed genuine. He wandered past her and headed for the stairs to the loft prompting her to follow. His jacket was off, giving her an unhindered view of his arms, his back, his…stop looking at his ass, weirdo…The guy is going to eventually kill you and you’re checking out his ass? Her eyes cast downward to watch the steps instead.
This Guy Kills Me Page 9
