by Hamel, B. B.
“Is your dog back there?”
“Yes, in my room.”
“Can he get out?”
“No.”
The man was quiet for a second. He released a low sigh. I wanted to ask him his name, ask him what he wanted. I wanted to offer him some coffee from the kitchen. In that moment, I would have done anything to show him that I was a person, and not some random person he could murder. I wasn’t thinking straight, though, and just continued to stare at him.
“Did you see two men dumping bodies into the river?”
The question cut through me and I took a sharp breath. Those packages had been dead bodies? There was no way. They were more or less square, and they looked so heavy.
Unless the bodies had been broken up.
I nearly screamed, but my mouth could only move uselessly. I was unable to make a sound, frozen with sheer terror. The guy gestured with his gun, putting it in my face.
“Did you see something or not, bitch?”
“Yes,” I managed.
“What did you tell the cops?”
I stared at him, confused, until it clicked. He was the guy in the van. Maybe he was the guy who had chased me, too. And they had no clue what I had said to the cops. He probably thought I told the cops about what I had seen, and he was going to punish me for it.
“Nothing, I swear to god I told them nothing,” I said.
“Why did you call them?”
“The van.”
The grunted. “What do you mean? Hurry the fuck up.”
“I saw the van following me. I was scared. Please don’t kill me.”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing!”
“What did they fucking say?”
“They didn’t say anything. They thought I was lying.”
I was practically crying, and my entire body cringed away from him. I could barely control my thoughts, let alone my body. Violent trembling overtook me, like my whole body was convulsing.
The man stood up and paced to the other side of the coffee table. He held the gun out straight, pointing it directly at me.
“I’m sorry, but I have to do this,” he said.
“Please, please, I’m so sorry, I didn’t tell them anything.”
They say your life flashes before your eyes. Nothing flashed for me. I was just frozen with fear, staring at the guy’s masked face. This can’t be real kept running through my mind.
This can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real.
Suddenly, the front door burst open with a loud bang. The man jerked up and looked over, but before he could do anything, something hit him in the shoulder, sending him spinning to the ground. I looked over, shocked, to see Liam standing there, a gun held in his two hands and smoke curling from the end of a long black barrel. He immediately rushed over to me.
“Ellie, fuck, are you okay?”
“What’s going on?” I said. My mind was reeling. I couldn’t think.
“It’s okay, it’s fine, I’m getting you out of here.”
Liam stood and looked down at the man, who was on the ground, groaning. He kicked the gun away from him and stomped down on his shoulder.
“Tell Colm he can go fuck himself,” Liam said.
“Fuck you, Liam,” the man on the ground grunted.
Did they know each other? I couldn’t get my frazzled mind together. Blood was pounding through my ears.
Liam kicked him again, harder, and the man stopped struggling. I stared, my entire body locked in fright and confusion. Liam turned back toward me, putting the gun into the waistband of his pants, and knelt down next to me.
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
“Who is that? What are you doing here?”
He looked me in the eye. “I promise, I’ll explain everything to you. But we need to get out of here right now.”
“But, we have to call the police.”
“No, no fucking cops.”
“That man was going to kill me. I saw them dumping bodies. We have to call the police.”
Nothing made sense, and I knew I was babbling, but I couldn’t help it. What was Liam doing here?
He shook his head again. “No cops, Ellie. You can’t trust them. You can’t trust anyone right now.”
“What are you talking about? They’re the police.”
“Ellie, look at me.”
His hands squeezed my shoulders, and I looked him in the eye. He looked tired and disheveled, but for a moment I felt safe. Something told me I needed to listen to him. It was completely crazy, everything was completely crazy, but he had saved my life. He had stopped that man from murdering me in broad daylight in my own apartment.
“Please, listen to me. If the cops could protect you, I’d take you there myself. But they can’t. We have to go, right now, before they show up. I’m guessing someone already called them.”
“Okay,” I said softly.
He stood and grabbed my hand, pulling me up against him. I felt his warmth and his strength, and I began to slowly regain some measure of control over myself. I stopped trembling, although the freezing cold terror still lingered in my gut.
“Come on,” he said, and he began to move out of my apartment. I held on to his hand and let him lead me out my apartment door, down the stairs, through the building’s busted-up entry, and out into the street.
We passed the black van, heading toward another car idling behind it. He opened the door of the black sports car and nodded. I got in, and he circled around to the driver’s seat and climbed in. He put the car into gear and began to reverse very fast back down my block and into the intersection. He turned the wheel, spinning us to the side, and began to speed down the street, wheels spinning and tearing up rubber, leaving small puffs of smoke, heading away from my apartment.
Chapter Eleven: Liam
My hands were shaking like crazy as I swung the car out onto Broad Street, heading back toward my territory. The recoil from the gun as I shot Max in the shoulder lingered in my muscles, and the sound of his grunt as I knocked him out kept replaying in my ears. I hated that Colm was so much of a monster that he’d murder an innocent girl in her own apartment, and I hated that Max was such a scumbag that he was willing to do it.
More than anything, I hated myself. I hated that I was involved in the business, especially when animals like Colm were running it. I hated that Ellie was dragged into it, and I hated that I had to tear her away from her life. But I didn’t regret saving her.
The danger wasn’t over, though. I had to drop her off at my safe house, and I had to get Richie and his mom out of the city.
“Where are we going?” Ellie said.
“Somewhere safe.”
“Fuck, Liam, he was going to kill me.”
I didn’t answer. What could I say to her? She was a civilian. She only knew about that kind of shit from movies and TV.
“How did this happen to me?” she asked.
I tensed my jaw and shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“How did you know he was there?”
I sighed. “I promise I’ll explain everything when we’re at my place.”
I took a hard left and sped through the narrow streets. I entered my territory and kept moving, heading for the fringes. I had to stop at the restaurant, but I couldn’t bring Ellie there. Instead, I was taking her to a house I had been renting for the past few years, ever since I entered the business. Nobody knew about it except for me. I paid the bill under a fake name, and I always paid the rent in cash. My dad had taught me how to make the place untraceable, and it was the safest place in the whole city that I knew about.
I never imagined I’d be hiding my little brother’s kindergarten teacher there one day. But that was the nature of a life in the business. You never knew when shit was going to happen, and you never knew how prepared you had to be. As I slowed the car down and pulled over in front of the cheap-looking row home, I was pretty damn thankful that I had been a little over prepared.
I cut the engine and looked at her. “This is it.”
She looked around. “What do you mean?”
“This is my safe house.”
She looked over at the houses and shrugged. I opened my door and climbed out. I walked around to her side and pulled open her door.
“Come on,” I said.
She climbed out slowly with a far-off and weird look on her face. I could tell that she was trembling as she stood, and I grabbed her arm to steady her. I thought she was over the worst of it, but clearly she was still in shock. She felt cold and clammy, like she had a fever or something. I shut the door behind her as we made our way over to the front door. She leaned on me the whole way, as if she were almost ready to fall asleep.
“Ellie, you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m a little tired,” she said vaguely.
“Okay, let’s get inside and you can nap.”
“Okay, sure, Liam.”
I fumbled with my keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. We stepped over the threshold and I shut the door behind us.
Inside, the place was sparsely furnished. There was a staircase directly ahead of us and a living room off to the left. In the back was the kitchen. I had a cheap couch, an old TV set, a single coffee table, and an old lamp on a crappy end table. It was all trash-picked stuff, garbage college kids were throwing away, but it was clean and it was good enough.
We hobbled together up the stairs, and I marveled at how light she felt in my arms. Her skin was soft and smooth, and I practically carried her up into the only furnished bedroom in the place. Slowly, I lowered her down onto the stiff mattress, and she curled up into a tight ball.
“Are you going to sleep?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled.
I frowned down at her, worried. Had Max done something to her before I got there? I had no clue what the guy was capable of, but I doubted he drugged her. He needed information from her and couldn’t risk her getting too out of it. She looked gorgeous lying curled up on the mattress, her firm tits barely covered by a thin cotton T-shirt, and I had to force myself to look away. I couldn’t let her distract me, not yet.
“I’m going out. Don’t leave here.”
She mumbled something in response. I gave her one last lingering look, as I turned and went down the steps. I moved fast into the kitchen, pulled out a pad of sticky notes and a pen, and wrote her a message.
Ellie: DO NOT LEAVE. I will be back very, very soon to explain everything.
I stuck it up on the front door, locked the knob, shoved it closed behind me, and jogged down the steps.
I hated to leave her alone, but I had things I needed to do, and I needed to do them fast. I practically dove back into the car, turned on the engine, and sped out of my spot, heading back toward my restaurant. My mind was moving at the speed of light, calculating how long I had before Colm came looking for me. I guessed at least another hour, maybe two, before he figured out that it was me who stopped Max. But it could be less. I wasn’t sure how long Max would be out, or if the cops had taken him in, or what.
There were too many loose ends. I cursed my impulsive stupidity. Before, I could have salvaged the situation, maybe figured out a way to keep Ellie alive while still winning over Colm. But as soon as she called the cops, all bets were off.
Still, I had my plan. It could work, even with this huge wrench thrown into the middle of things. Maybe I had to change a few details, alter a few moves, but it was still possible. And it was my only option.
I pulled into the alley behind the restaurant, killed the engine, and ran inside. Luis was prepping for the early dinner rush as I moved through the kitchen.
“Yo, boss,” he called out, and I waved, not stopping.
I moved out into the hall and pushed open the door to my office. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I reached back to feel the gun tucked into my pants for reassurance. The room was empty, though, so I ran over to the safe I had tucked against a back wall. I entered the code and the door unlocked with a loud click.
“What’s going on?”
I glanced up and saw Colin looking in at me.
“Nothing. I just need this cash.”
He stared hard at me and shook his head.
“I know something’s up. Colm keeps calling, and you’ve been missing all morning.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just business.”
He took a step inside. “Listen, I can help you.”
Without answering, I whipped out my gun and held it leveled straight at his face.
“Inside,” I said.
He gaped at me, shocked.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Get inside the office, or I’ll kill you.”
He blinked and stepped inside, his hands in the air. He began to smile, looking nervous.
“Is this some bad joke, Liam?”
“Not a joke. Sit on the couch.”
He sat, his hands still in the air. I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a roll of duct tape.
“Hold your hands out.”
He complied, wrists together.
“If you’re in trouble, man, I can help. I’m on your side.”
I set the gun down within reach and began to roll the tape tightly around his wrists. He winced, but I didn’t care. I needed him to stay put, at least long enough for me to get away with the cash.
“I don’t know which side you’re on, Colin. I’ve never fucking trusted you.”
I tore off the end and tossed the tap aside.
He laughed nervously. “Man, I’m your lieutenant. I’m you’re number two. You know me.”
I glared at him. “You were assigned to me.”
His face suddenly got serious. I had never seen him look like that before.
“I swear, you can trust me,” he said.
I ignored him and turned back to the safe. Inside, I had rolls of cash, at least ten thousand, probably more, along with fake IDs, passports, and another gun. I began to shove it all into an old gym bag I had stashed in the corner.
“What are you going to do with all that?”
“Nothing,” I grunted.
“You can’t run, Liam. If you’re in trouble, let me help you.”
I slung the bag over my shoulder and grabbed the silenced pistol again, slipped it back into my pants.
“Stay here for at least ten minutes. Then you can leave.”
He shook his head. “Liam, please. Let me help.”
Without another word, I pushed out of the office and strode into the kitchen.
“Luis,” I called out.
“Yo, boss,” he said, walking over to me.
“Take the next day off. Actually, take the next few days off.” I paused and frowned, looking around. “Lay low, if you can.”
He looked serious and nodded. “You okay?”
“I’ll be fine. You just make sure you lay low for a little while.”
“Okay, will do.”
I took a step closer to him.
“How much do they know?” I said softly, nodding at the other guys.
“Less than me, which isn’t much.”
“Good. I’ll see you soon.”
He nodded, and I headed out the back door. I threw open the car door, tossed in my bag, and climbed into the driver’s seat. I turned on the engine and sped off, racing toward Richie and his mom. I clenched my jaw, fear jolting through me.
I didn’t have much time left. Colin would be free by now, or at least he would be calling Colm. I had to get Richie and his mom out of there immediately, before something bad happened to them.
I pressed down on the accelerator, thinking about nothing but getting there in time.
And as I blew through another stop sign, barely managing to check for other cars and pedestrians, a realization hit me straight in the chest: I forgot the fucking box.
The whole fucking reason I risked going back to my office at all, aside from the cash. The box was key to my whole pla
n. It had a whole slew of information, and it was the proof that I needed to get everything going. Colin had fucking distracted me, and I left it behind like an idiot.
I wanted to punch myself in the face. I wanted to crash my car. How could I have been so careless?
I let off the gas for half a second, unsure of what to do. I couldn’t go back, not with Colin still there, but I also couldn’t leave the box.
There was no real choice. Fuck it. I can get it later, I thought. Nothing mattered if Colm got to Richie first. I’d figure something out. One problem at a time.
I kept going, silently praying.
Chapter Twelve: Ellie
I woke up on a strange mattress in a nearly empty room, the events of the morning swirling around my brain.
Some guy had broken into my apartment, was about to kill me, but that couldn’t be true. And then Liam showed up, out of nowhere, and shot the guy? I shook my head, feeling dizzy. I stared at the smooth white ceiling, like almost every other ceiling I had seen in my life, but somehow it felt different.
It wasn’t my ceiling, I decided. That was the problem. It should have been my ceiling.
I knew it had happened, knew it was real, but I was having trouble believing it anyway. Everything flashed through my mind in bits and pieces, like an impressionist painting. It felt like a strobe light was going off in my brain, and with each new flash I caught another piece of what had happened. There was the man, pushing into my apartment; there he was, holding the gun to my face; the man standing back against the wall, gun leveled; Liam appearing; the man on the ground; Liam kicking him; running away. It was hard to hold myself together.
I got up and stretched, looking around. The place felt spooky, like it was haunted, except in an opposite way. Instead of being full of something, it was way too empty, and the emptiness felt oppressive. The walls were bare and the furniture was all clearly secondhand. None of it matched and there was no attempt at making anything look decent. It was as utilitarian as possible. It was the complete opposite of a home. Instead of warm and inviting, it was cold and disinterested.
“Hello?” I called out.
There was no response. I padded softly out into the hallway and looked into the next room. It was completely empty, not even a speck of furniture. I checked the next few rooms, and they were all the same: completely bare, except for the dust that had accumulated over who knew how many days without cleaning. I walked slowly down the stairs, feeling the unfamiliar creaks and groans of the wood, and a bright yellow note stuck to the front door caught my eye. As I got to the bottom, I grabbed it, read it, and then crumbled it up and threw it onto the floor.
