Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss.

by Diana Hoffman

  Bastard. Victoria grabbed his pillow and leaned over the bed to hit him with it, when he quickly grabbed her wrists and jerked her down on top of him. She shrieked as she slammed into his hard chest.

  Nic hugged his wife tightly. "See, I told you it was nice down here."

  Victoria couldn't quit laughing. She slowly rose up and straddled him, placing her hands on his chest.

  "You could have hurt me," she said, looking down at him.

  "Never," Nic whispered, as he raised up to kiss her tender lips. He placed his hand behind her neck, forcing himself deeper into her mouth. She moaned while his other hand slowly inched further up her thigh.

  Then her eyes widened as she pushed him away. "Oh my God, we're awful parents," she said, as she hopped up from Nic, realizing that Sebastian was still crying his little head off.

  "I'll get him," Nic said, grabbing hold of her.

  "No, I'm up now. I'll go. He's crying for me anyway, remember," Victoria spouted sarcastically as she pushed past Nic.

  Nic beat her to the door, and quickly entered into his son's room, with Victoria laughing and cursing behind him. He walked over to his crib, and found his son staring up at him. His cries had turned into hiccups and little tears were drying on the side of his face.

  Nic quickly picked him up and held him close. "It's okay, daddy's here. Mean mommy tried to keep me away, but I'm here now," Nic said, looking over at Victoria as he kissed his son's cheek.

  She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her smile. "He's probably hungry, so mean mommy needs to feed him." Nic sat down beside her, and gently rubbed his son's tiny feet, watching in wonderment as Victoria fed him.

  It was a lazy Saturday afternoon when Nic and Victoria received some disturbing news. Victoria had just finished up an online test from a local community college. It was much harder than she thought it would be. She had to be extremely disciplined to do online courses. She had thought they would be a breeze, but with the lack of attendance in class, they made up for in homework assignments, quizzes and tests that were almost every other day—including weekends.

  But Sebastian was such a good baby, which was a plus during this time. He either slept or just amused himself by staring at different things, while she did her work. He rarely cried anymore, which Victoria tried to attribute to the fact that she could anticipate his needs before he felt the need to cry. But she needed to give him a bath before she started on her next assignment.

  "Nic?" Victoria called out, as she walked into the living room. "Nic," she said again, before she quieted. Nic was lying on the couch on his back, while Sebastian rested gently on his chest. The two of them looked so much alike, that she snickered, remembering a joke her mother had told her. Olivia had said that it's a good thing James was gone now to rest in peace, because he would have had a fit with that boy's complexion. But over time, Sebastian was getting a little bit darker in tone. Victoria didn't care what color he was, she just loved him more than anything. And what she was staring at now, was quite possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

  Victoria wasn't sure how long she lovingly admired her two boys, but she couldn't take her eyes away from them. Nic's eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising up and down. And Sebastian's little face was turned to the side resting on his father's chest. His tiny little pink lips made an 'o' shape as he yawned, never once opening his eyes.

  After what seemed like forever, Victoria quietly backed out of the living room and went back into Nic's study to open up her last timed quiz. She glanced at the photo by his computer. It was a picture Isabelle had taken of her that first day in the hospital, with Sebastian in her hands. She personally hated the picture because she had just woken up, and with all the pushing, sweating and lack of makeup ...she swore she looked hideous. But Nic wouldn't let her change it. He said it was his favorite picture.

  Before the test, she decided to browse really quickly online, when suddenly she gasped and then screamed, "Oh my God! Oh no! No!" She quickly read over the story, and it appeared to be true. Her first thought was of Paul. Her heart went out to him.

  Nic jumped when he heard Victoria's scream. He quickly stood up, holding Sebastian close to his body as he walked into his study.

  "Baby, what's wrong?"

  "Sonny...he's dead," she cried, still half in shock.

  Nic sighed and kissed the baby's head. "I know," he said as he walked over and sat down on the chair opposite of her.

  "You knew?" Victoria questioned, wiping her nose. "How did you know? Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Jimmy informed me a few hours ago. I didn't want to upset you before you took your test," Nic explained, wiping his wife's tears away with his fingers.

  "That article said that there weren't any suspects yet. Do you know who did it?" Victoria asked.

  "No. But I'm sure it will come out eventually."

  Victoria covered her face and groaned. But then she realized she needed to call Paul. She quickly stood and grabbed Nic's office phone.

  "I have to call Paul. I know this is just...just killing him," Victoria sobbed, dialing Paul's house. She and Sonny had never really gotten along, but she knew how much Sonny meant to him. It was the only family Paul had left.

  "Hello?" a voice answered.

  "Hi. May I speak to Mr. Marconi?"

  "May I ask who's calling?"

  "Victoria Andretti."

  "One moment."

  Victoria stared over at Nic, who was looking back at her.

  "Hello Victoria," Paul said, as his voice came through the receiver in his usual soft manner. Although she could tell immediately that he sounded tired.

  She quickly sniffed, and then answered. "Hi, Paul. Oh, I'm so sorry. I just heard."

  "Thank you. It's not really been a good day for me. I still can't really believe it, but..." he started, but never really finished.

  "If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know," Victoria stated. Nic motioned for her to hand him the phone. "Paul, hold on one second, Nic wants to speak with you."

  Nic handed Victoria the baby, as he grabbed the phone in return.

  "Paul?" Nic asked, as he started walking towards the kitchen and then out into the backyard.

  "I'm here. How are you, Nic?"

  "I'm okay. I just wanted to let you know that Sonny and I didn't always see eye to eye, as you know, but I'm truly sorry for your loss. And if there's anything I can do...people I can put you in contact with regarding who's responsible for this, just let me know."

  "Thanks Nic. That means a lot...and I might have to call you on that favor. They...he was, um...bad things were done to his body. Not much to really identify. I stood there staring at this slab of burnt flesh...not believing in a million years that this was my son."

  Nic immediately felt his pain. That was one of the worst things he had ever had to go through in his life. And even though Sonny had been a pain in the ass most of his life, Paul didn't deserve this. He was a well respected, old school type of man in their game, and whoever did this, would pay.

  "I'm really sorry. I'll ask around and see what I can find out."

  "Thank you. I appreciated it, Nic. If you find out anything, give me another call. Tell Victoria I said thanks, and I'll talk to both of you later." Paul then hung up. He sat behind his wide desk, staring over at Reni.

  "Sir, we're not sure yet, but some of our sources are saying that it was the Russians. That Sonny had gotten mixed up with them, and Ensor put a hit out on him," Reni said.

  Paul sat there thinking about this new information. He had felt deep down that it had been the Russians. That Sonny had been in trouble, and Paul wanted to kick himself for not saying something to his son when he had the chance. He knew it wasn't like Sonny to up and fly to Amsterdam without letting him know. He knew something wasn't right with that story—but he said nothing, other than fuss at him for being irresponsible. And now his son was dead, and he could have prevented it.

  Paul swiveled his chair around so t
hat he was facing his window. He thought about Sonny as a young boy. He had been a funny kid. Always smiling and telling jokes. He kept his mother laughing, even on her deathbed. He remembered the day his wife took her last breath. Paul had thought he was dying right along with her. He wanted nothing more than to curl up on the bed, and close his eyes too. But it was his son hugging him from behind that brought his mind back, and he realized he still had family. His son, and he had sworn to his wife that he would protect him...and he failed. But one thing he would not fail at, was avenging his son's murder.

  "Reni," Paul said, still staring out of the window, "let all of our guys know that we are on the hunt for the Russians, and to bring in Ensor, preferably alive...so I can deal with him myself."

  Reni nodded and walked out.

  His hands were shaking, and he needed to slow down his breathing. Even though he knew it wasn't there, he still felt there was blood on his hands. He quickly wiped his palms across his jeans-covered thighs. Fuck, this was spinning way out of control.

  He could bullshit and charm his way out of almost every situation. It was a gift he had. One that his father never fully appreciated. His old man wanted him to be more like him, old school. Or like that fucker, Nic. But that wasn't Sonny.

  And until tonight, he had never taken another human being's life. Until tonight, he thought over in his head again. Fuck!

  Sonny knew he shouldn't have gotten involved with the Russians. He had never played at that level before. That was more Nic's territory, because where Sonny liked to bullshit, charm and make an idle threat every now and then, Nic would just kill you. And that's exactly the same philosophy that the Russians had adopted. And Ensor...that Russian prick, believed that Sonny had stolen from him. But he hadn't! Ensor had sent some of his men after him, but they tagged the wrong guy. Some poor local criminal who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the body was found, or what was left of the unlucky bastard, Sonny heard on the street about it, and speculation that it might be his body. That gave him an idea. He left an anonymous tip with the police that it was his body, then he hurriedly left town.

  Sonny knew further investigation would eventually reveal to everyone that the body wasn't his, but he thought he would have at least a few days to get his shit together before he was a target again. He was wrong.

  Sonny had already been traveling down south to escape this whole fiasco, when he felt like he was being followed. On the second day of his trip, the person made a move on him and Sonny panicked and stabbed the bastard. Only that bastard turned out to be Ensor's son, Viktor. Of all the fucking luck! Apparently Viktor hadn't believed the police reports, and decided to go after Sonny alone so he could prove something to his old man. Dumb fuck.

  Viktor had moved in on him late that night, and tried shooting him. Sonny had managed to get the gun away from him, but then that asshole pulled out a knife. And this wasn't just any knife...that fucker had to be at least close to a foot long. Viktor was certainly larger than Sonny, but he wasn't as quick. Sonny managed to struggle with him, and quickly take him off guard by clipping him in his thick neck, a trick his father had shown him, and stealing the knife away. But it only stalled Viktor for a second. He grabbed Sonny by the neck, and started strangling him, before Sonny stuck the knife in his stomach. He had to stab him four times before that bastard stopped trying to choke him, and turned him loose.

  Sonny stared down at the body in disbelief. Viktor's cold blue eyes still looking up at him, but with no life behind them. Sonny couldn't think straight. He tried to drag the body over to a swamp near the library where the scene had unfolded, but halfway from the back of the building to the murky waters, SHE walked out.

  Immediately the young black woman froze. She stared at him, then stared at the body. Her eyes widened. Before Sonny could get 'wait' out of his mouth, she screamed and turned to run back in the building.

  Sonny picked up the gun and immediately sprinted after her. She tried to lock the door, but he got there just in time, forcing it back open.

  A few weeks had passed, and life was finally getting back to normal for Nic and Victoria. Not that their relationship had ever been normal, but Sebastian brought that balance to their lives. Victoria couldn't stand to be away from him, even for a few hours. But they had agreed to go to Jackson's house for a family and friends get-together. Jackson seemed to be the center of a very large, unique group of people, and they all seemed to have so much respect for him.

  Victoria wasn't so sure that Nic would get along with Jackson's son in-law, Brandon. Upon first impression he seemed extremely blunt, and dropped the f-word...a lot. But much to Victoria's surprise, he and Nic had already made plans to attend a Lakers game. And somehow, Brandon was able to make Nic laugh, which was not an easy feat. Nic rarely ever cracked a smile in front of strangers. And Jackson's daughter, Sienna, was really beautiful...and really young...but she seemed to have an amazing head on her shoulders. Very bright mature woman, who amused Victoria with the story of how she and her husband met. Victoria wasn't quite so ready to reciprocate with that kind of information...since she and Nic definitely didn't share the average fairytale meeting. But maybe one day, she would let Sienna in on that, since their story was no walk in the park either.

  Nic and Victoria didn't want to bombard them all with a new baby, so they left Sebastian at home with Marianna, who was more than happy to take over. She had been visiting them, and was almost a permanent fixture in their home. So much so, that she basically spent every other month with them. She no longer had to pack for flights, since Nic had bought her a new wardrobe for her room at their house. And as overbearing as Marianna could be, Victoria loved having her there.

  After they finally made it home from Jackson's house, Victoria was so sleepy, that Nic had to carry her upstairs to their room, kissing her ever so often along the way. But she wanted to check in on the baby first, so they walked into Sebastian's room and glanced in his crib.

  Neither one of them could still believe that he existed. Nic stared down at him. Even though their son tended to look a little more like him, he prayed that Sebastian would have Victoria's big heart. Her optimism and outlook on the world. Nic had thought of what he would say the day his son was a man and came to him asking about how his and Victoria's relationship started. Nic thought about what he would say. And he decided that the truth was the best. To admit that he wasn't always a good person, but Victoria changed that. She decided to ignore the monster and look deeper to find the other person who had been hidden for years. And he hoped that answer would be enough. Only time would tell.

  "Could he be any cuter?" Victoria asked, breaking his train of thought.

  "I think he needs a brother," Nic whispered to her, pulling her away from the crib. "Let's get started on that."

  Victoria laughed, as the two of them entered their bedroom. Nic went to take a shower, but Victoria didn't feel like budging. She was so tired, and instead opted to plop down face first on the bed, and stayed like that until she heard the shower cut off.

  She finally crawled underneath the covers, when she remembered something. "Oh, hey Nic," Victoria yelled from the bed.

  "What?" she heard him say.

  "Some woman from that party we went to months ago invited us to her party. I forgot to tell you. It's a garden party, or key party...something like that. But she seemed nice, so I wanted to let you know."

  Victoria watched as Nic slowly peeked around the corner from the bathroom with a quizzical look on his face, his hair still wet from his shower. He paused mid-stroke of brushing his teeth. "What did you say?" he asked.

  "She wanted us to attend her party," Victoria yawned.

  "Well, what kind of party is it? Garden party or key party?"

  "Hmm, I think she said key. But what's the difference?" Victoria asked.

  Nic laughed. "Well, a garden party is a bunch of stuffy rich people eating outdoors and dressed in formal attire. A key party is when married guys place their car keys in a sack
and their wives pull them out, and sleep with whichever husband's key they pull out. Again, usually stuffy rich people. But different parties, baby."

  Victoria almost choked, "What?! She couldn't possibly think that I would—oh my God, I can't...what is wrong with people?!"

  Nic laughed, "My beautiful wife...making friends." He rinsed out his mouth and then stared over at her.

  "Eww," Victoria said to herself. "I could never share you. Ever!"

  "I almost followed a guy one night who slapped your ass while you were working at Calamity's. Definitely not the sharing type."

  Nic watched as his wife stared over at him with a big smile. She was absolutely stunning...and even more so now than when he first met her, if that were possible.

  "So you were stalking me," Victoria smiled.

  "Of course."

  She laughed and shook her head. "I knew it."