She remembered her nakedness as modesty took over. She may have slept with him just hours ago, but he was a different man to her now. He wasn’t her lover. He was her executioner. She was not about to share her intimate parts with him for his enjoyment.
Vinny took notice of her arms that now covered her breasts and her leg that hooked to cover the pale skin of her pussy. He nodded towards her and waited with his back turned. He hated to admit how much he wanted to watch her get dressed, to see her carefully pull down the blue dress over her head and hips.
There was to be no more moments like this. Whatever they had, whatever they shared was behind them. Before them was the long walk to Gloria’s fate with Vinny leading the way. Before the day would end, he would have her blood on his hands, and he had to start acknowledging that now.
When her shadow settled once again on the side of the bed, Vinny grabbed her arm. Sucking back all of the words he wanted to say, he instead commanded her, “Take your bag.” He pointed towards her backpack and the purse that were sitting in the corner of the room behind the desk.
Gloria followed his orders. When she turned back around, he had her black notebook and phone in his hands. He was rummaging through the pages, ripping out some of the sheets. Gloria shouted defensively, “What are you doing? You can’t do that.”
He looked at her quizzically. She was about to meet her maker and all she could care about was whatever was in this notebook. He explained, “You say you have information? Well, I want it. But I’d rather not anyone see the stuff about me, you get me?”
Gloria pointed out, “Why bring it? It’s not like any of you will believe me anyway.”
He shrugged. His eyes were still glancing over a page that had notes about him and their deal. She had written out every interaction, every moment they had shared. There were notes about their limited time working over the people of Jackman’s Tavern. There was a line about him and Quimby torturing the couple in their own home. And he was not surprised to see she had even recorded when they fucked. She was nothing if not detailed and organized.
He shut the small leather book hard in his hands, curled it from the spine, and stuck it in his back pocket with her cellphone. Without looking up at her, he slowly said, “It’s time to go. They are expecting you.”
She backed herself back to the wall as he motioned towards her arm. She burst out into a sob as she cried out into the quiet of his apartment, “Please! No! Vinny! Please don’t do this…You cannot do this…Vinny!”
He took hold of her waist, pulling her down just as he had in the bed. She had managed to grab hold of a dresser that toppled with her with a large thud. He stepped over the mess as she found herself completely cornered. There was no more running. Vinny had won.
His hands and arms dragged her down the hallway past where the television and kitchen light were still both on. She did not say another word, nor did she attempt to fight her way out. She was dead weight in his arms. Together they made their way to Gloria’s car. He pushed her into the backseat and buckled himself into the front. He moved the rearview mirror from pointing at her somber, cold face to the road behind them.
They both listened to the sound of the car tires dragging over the gravel and the unwitting people pass them by in cars just like hers. Neither dared say another word to the other. Their silence was sacred. Both were comforted by the familiar passing of the telephone poles and trees in the wind along the back roads of their journey.
Vinny drove too fast. He had wanted to prolong this as long as he could. Each moment that her presence sank in with him, he grew more and more unsure that she was working with the Devils. Everything seemed equally probable and improbable. But now he had to make the decision: bring her to her death or take to the road. However, before he could change his mind and work out a plan, the parking lot to the building where the Horsemen operated from had come into view.
There was only one way.
Gloria got out of the car on her own. She paused at the door, waiting for him to walk towards her. She took in the sight of the morning sun, the sound of the birds singing their version of the blues, and the gentle crisp air blowing through her hair and in the fabric of her dress. Her eyes closed as Vinny, once again, grabbed her arms and pulled her towards the building.
As he expected, Quimby was waiting for him just before he could enter the building. The man looked more puffed up than ever. He had a devilish grin on his face as he recognized the tattered and tired Gloria in Vinny’s grasp.
“Ya find that bitch? You son of a gun. I didn’t think you had it in you. I mean, I heard about all the shit you pulled in the past, but after you wussied out on that job with Junior’s family, I thought you had lost your balls.” He slapped Vinny on the back as he led him inside. Gloria dragged behind them with little resistance.
The Black Horsemen’s headquarters was eerily silent. The men who were there sat huddled at the group’s tables, their bodies turned from the open door. They had clearly heard who was coming in, but they refused to acknowledge Vinny’s, or even Gloria’s, presence.
“Just sit back here.” Quimby had escorted them to a room in the back of the old factory. “Benni’s in a meeting. I’ll bring him out when he’s done.” With a snicker, he shut the door quietly, leaving Vinny and Gloria alone together once more.
The sound of a click from the outside lock sent Vinny in a panic. His eyes darted up and down her body and then back at the room they were put in. “Gloria, we have to get out of here.” He grabbed hold of her hands and dragged her to the tall, rectangular window.
“What? What are you talkin’ about? You just brought me here to be killed, and now you’re tellin’ me we have to escape? What’s goin’ on?”
Vinny had not taken a second to respond. He was stacking furniture to stand upon. The chair on the table finally lifted him high enough to reach the metal clasps. The top section of the window opened just wide enough for him to slide out. “I’ve got to find Benni. Stay here.”
He lifted his leg to climb out, but Gloria’s plea caught him. “What! You can’t leave me alone here without tellin’ me what’s up!”
He jumped down quietly, his boots landing with a soft thud. He took his hands upon his shoulders as he leaned towards her and whispered, “Listen, that guy out there – do you recognize him?”
Gloria had noticed the man’s face and voice. It was one she could never forget. The image of him dragging a woman’s lifeless body down the stairs by her hair was engrained in her memory. She nodded in response as she swallowed hard.
“Something’s goin’ on with him. Protocol is to have me brought directly to Benni, not wait out in a locked room. Those guys out in the main hall? They’re all his close allies—guys who ain’t exactly my close friends, get it?”
“What does that have to do with us?” Gloria couldn’t make the connections, but she could sense the danger lurking.
“I dunno, Gloria. But I’m not about to get us killed before I find out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
“Killed?! You just brought me here to die!” Gloria had been able to keep it in this entire time. She had come to terms that this was her end and that the one person she had opened herself up to was going to be in charge of her death. But now she was struggling to face this new change in plans.
“I don’t care if you’re workin’ for the Devils. I don’t care if you set me up. Right now, all I care about is gettin’ us out of this room.” Vinny gestured towards the window still cracked open up enough for him to slither through.
“Don’t leave me here.” She looked down at her shaking hands. She could not bear to face him. “Please, Vinny.”
He stepped closer to her and wrapped her into her arms for an embrace. He kissed the top of her head and whispered sincerely, “It will be okay. Just let me go, okay?”
She pulled tighter on his hips before letting go. He quickly climbed up and out the window and fell down the half story to the grass below. She watched as the top o
f his head disappeared in a flash.
A crash came from the other side of the door. A booming voice belonging to Quimby rose up, “That motherfucking idiot has no idea what’s coming for him! Let’s start with the girl so he can watch.”
Gloria knew what was coming for her, and she understood that there was not time to wait for Vinny to rescue her. She had no other option but to run. Gloria climbed the small tower of furniture that Vinny had left. The chair on top of the table shook as she attempted to hop up over the top of the window like Vinny had, but she was just too short.
She could, however, reach a built in drawer on top of the closet. It was just large enough to hold her and close enough for her to climb into. But her hiding place was too obvious with the table and chair pushed up against the wall. She had to make a distraction. Her only option was to knock over the setup and pray Vinny had enough time to get out of the way before the guys would come looking for her.
With her breath held, she climbed into the cedar built-in and held on to the cabinet’s handle. Her other hand pushed hard up against the chair, sending it flying backwards and down to the floor. The crash made a metal boom that spread through the room and lingered as each of the pieces broke upon contact with the linoleum tiles.
Gloria could hear the men run to the room to see what had happened. A new voice shouted, “What the fuck is goin’ on in there?” She watched from her perch high above the ground as the doorknob rattled and shook.
“Move out of the way, you idiots.” Quimby unlocked the doorknob quickly. He used his foot to kick in the wood. The men stood back, expecting an attack. But instead, the room was completely empty. All that they could see was the heap of metal chairs, the turned over table, and the cracked open window.
Gloria watched as they surveyed the area before Quimby finally announced, “How the fuck did he get out? Who was in charge of guarding the outside?” He pointed to one of the younger of the five men in the room, “Go find wherever that shithead and whore are headin’ and bring him to me.”
The rest of the men went back to their posts, but Quimby continued to stand in the room in silence. He looked about for clues or a sign, even glancing at the cabinet where Gloria peeked through with her single eye. When his glare looked upward towards her, she quickly backed away, shuffling herself farther back in the empty cabinet.
Quimby sighed, exasperated, and then left, leaving the door open. Gloria lingered in her spot for several minutes, hoping that if she stayed, they or Vinny would never find her. No, if Gloria wanted out and back to safety, she had to get out on her own.
But making it out of the den of Horses was easier said than done. As she shimmied down the wall’s brackets and back to the ground, she peeked her head outside the quiet hallway. From her vantage point, she spotted the back of two men guarding the front door and another three guarding the main hall. There was practically no escape that did not involve going directly past someone.
She could also see the outline of three other doors like hers. She squinted her eyes as she studied the outside locks on the door. Two of the gold locks were set to unlock while a third was locked. Her heart raced. Behind that door could be her ticket out of there.
Another large pounding sound came from the main hall as a cry of shouts came bursting through the silence. They were cheering something, and Gloria could only guess what. She said a silent prayer that it was not Vinny. But as the men were distracted, crowding around whatever had come to their attention, Gloria took it as her cue to make her dash.
She ran through the hallway to the room with the locked door. Her fingers fumbled with the lock until she was able to stop shaking. She could not steady herself before she felt her dress sleeve be yanked upwards by a great force. Gloria quickly turned, her back leaning against the door she had attempted to open.
A large man of over six feet towered above her. He wasted no time, delivering a huge slap to Gloria’s face that knocked her hard to the ground. She struggled to get up before the same man delivered a surprise kick to her stomach. She collapsed on to the ground. He pulled her up by her hair and walked her into the main hall.
Gloria’s vision failed as the man’s forceful hit brought lingering damage to her eyesight. She could hear Quimby laugh heartily as he took notice, “So we found ourselves two jailbirds. Leave this one in here. Put that one with Ben. We’ll take her last now.”
Two. Two? Had they caught Vinny? Gloria had not been sure; she could still not make out the faces of the men. She let out a scream as she kicked up against the mountain of a man that carried her over his shoulder back to the room she had attempted to unlock.
Her taker opened the door and tossed her inside. She fell back down to the ground in a pile of bones and skin that wanted nothing more than to just give up. Her wrists shook as she tried to prop herself up to sitting.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” A large man with waspy brown hair growled at her as he sat confined to a metal chair. His arms and legs were bound with wire and his face was bloodied and bruised. Small burn marks made by cigarette tips were seared into his white t-shirt and jeans.
“Are you, uh, Benni?” Gloria shook her head, trying to focus more closely upon his face. She had never met the leader of the Black Horsemen, but Vinny had described him to her in the past. But still, she was not sure what she wanted his answer to be. Benni had sworn to kill her after all. However, he was also most likely a hostage in this situation.
“Yeah. And you’re Gloria. Where’s Vinny? Is he in on this, too?”
“In on what?” Gloria asked.
“Those dumb fucks are tryin’ to stage a coup. They’re mad I didn’t kill your boyfriend after that ambush you planted.” His beady eyes focused on hers as he remembered her supposed plot.
“I didn’t know about the restaurant. I knew they were headed out to the quarry, and I warned Vinny. I did my part to keep him safe.” Gloria was defensive. She had been accused of a great many things, but this was the worst.
“Sure thing, sister. So how do you explain that kidnapping? If you were taken, how did you get out except by agreeing to set up the whole attack?”
She couldn’t lie anymore. If she was going to die, she was going to at least do it with all of her cards out on the table. “I was not taken. The Devils didn’t kidnap me. Vinny and I faked it so you guys would lay off of me with your guards.”
A small smile crept on Benni’s battered face, “You’re lyin’ to a dyin’ man. There’s somethin’ sinful in that.”
“We’re both about to die here, so why would I lie?” Gloria could still hear the sound of men shouting and hollering at one another from the main hallway. Occasional bangs interrupted the two of them.
“So, if you weren’t with the Devils, is what you told Vinny true? Do you have information for me?”
“I’m a professional blackmailer, Benni. I know a great deal of things. Most importantly, I know where Junior is. And if you can get me out of here, I’ll tell you where he is—and all the other things I know about the Devils including how I know that they are on their way here now!”
….
Vinny slammed into the metal table and then into the chair. The force of his body being slung from one side of the room to the next had him rolling and skidding across the floor. Each time he hit another person, they pushed him harder and faster into another large object.
Slam! A table. Bam! A wall. Crash! A shelving unit.
His body was a cannonball creating damage as it traveled and landed.
The men were not easing up. These were his brothers, the men he swore he would ride with to the end. Now they were circling him like wild dogs to their prey. Vinny held his hands up in defense, “What in the hell is goin’ on? Quimby?”
Quimby had stood in the corner, watching as the men spun him senselessly around the center of the main hall. When Vinny called out to him, he walked over and knelt down to meet his face. “This is for the ambush at the quarry.”
“What? I had noth
ing to do with that. You see these?” Vinny lifted his shirt to reveal the bandages around his torso and back, “The Devils did this to me. Knives and bats.”
Quimby did not answer. Instead, he stood to face where Vinny sat and kicked him square in the chest and then another to the face. Vinny’s head whipped wildly to the side and back down to the floor. He could taste a small pool of blood form in the corner of his mouth.
He used his arms to push off of the ground to standing. Each effort caused more and more pain. Through his bloody mouth he said once again, “You really think I wanted this? Your fight is with the Devils, not me, not Benni, and not with Gloria.”
“We know you let Junior go and that your whore was there the whole time. Benni let that slip hours ago when we were breaking each of his fingers. None of you deserve to be Horsemen. It’s time this club was taken over by a real man.” He spun around the room, facing his men who listened with wanting eyes, “Right, men? That bastard Benni led us into battle and got us killed. It’s a disgrace!”
Don’t You Dare: A Bad Boy MMA Fighter Romance Page 45
