by H. L. Swan
∞∞∞
Another call comes through, breaking me from my trance as I speed down the freeway. Clicking the button on the dash, the voice of the man I’m about to kill bleeds through the speakers of my Mercedes.
“Hello, Mr. Scott.” A familiar accented voice sounds on the other end.
Vinny Matarazzo.
Pure rage lines my tone. “Tell me where the fuck they are.”
My hands grip the steering wheel tightly as I head towards the city, going at least a hundred miles an hour.
“Tsk, tsk. I call the shots, understand?”
His arrogance would make me laugh if I wasn’t so enraged and in fear for my girl and Ash. I’ve never felt this before. This fear coursing through my veins.
“Get to the fucking point, Vinny,” I spit out, imagining my hands around his neck, watching the life drain from his pointless existence.
“I’ll call you with the details later.”
And the line goes dead.
A maniacal laugh escapes my clenched teeth. I thank God I have a tracker on Em. I know it’s a little crazy, but her safety is the absolute most important thing to me. After the stunt they pulled with the club, ditching my driver, I’m not taking any chances.
Picking Ricky up, we hightail to where her locator last pinged. An industrial part of town. Nightfall creeps on us and we use it to our advantage. Parking a block away, we prowl towards the vast number of warehouses, slowing as we try and decide which one they might be in.
A muffled scream is a giveaway, and the familiar tone behind it makes my body shake with rage.
“I’m going to fucking kill everyone in that building.” I whisper to Ricky as we walk closer. Trying to keep a low profile as we size up the building. It’s not a huge place but big enough to hold a lot of men. But there is no time for reconnaissance, we have to make our move now.
I turn to Ricky, letting every ounce of authority creep into my words. If he fucks this up…I can’t even think of that. “You get Ashley. I’ll get Emma. Clean break. If we can’t get them out for any reason, I kill every last one of them, and you shield the girls, understand?”
He nods, cocking his gun.
I double check the gun tucked into my waistband. “Under no circumstance do you save me if it puts them in danger.”
Creeping towards a large metal sliding door, I know whoever is inside will be alerted of our presence the moment I pull it open, but we have no other choice. I may not be thinking clearly, but I know I have to get them out of there. Carefully, I pull open the door. Ricky follows close behind as we walk inside the cool warehouse. I keep my gun drawn as my eyes adjust to our new surroundings.
The muffled sounds become clearer as we round a narrow hallway. I peek my head around the side of a concrete wall, trying to decipher how many men we’re up against.
Rage burns through my veins at the sight of Ash and Emma tied up, back to back, in just their underwear. These men have sealed their fates. I’m going to kill everyone involved. Their family, their friends. Fuck, even their distant cousins.
I hold seven fingers up to Ricky before walking in the open area. They should have had more men throughout the warehouse if they wanted to get away with whatever this is.
Vinny looks in my direction, unsurprised, a cocky grin on his face. He must think his six men dotted around the room are more than enough to stop me.
Not a chance.
“Took you long enough.” Vinny twirls a sharp knife as he steps closer to Emma. Her eyes light up when she sees me, as if I’m her hero. She’s bolted to the fucking ground because of me, how can she look at me like that? Then, as if realization slaps her in the face she screams, “It’s a trap! They lured you here!” The dried blood on her face makes my jaw clench.
I inch forward, halting when he brings the knife to her throat.
“You can have anything you want. Name it. Just let the girls go.”
He laughs sinisterly.
I tighten my hand around the gun.
“You can’t give me back my daughter,” He growls. The dull fluorescent light accents the gleam of his knife.
He’s right. I can give him money and power, practically anything in the world. But I can’t bring back the dead. What happened was never my fault, but I should never have gotten involved with the Mafia. Back then, I had nothing to lose.
Things are different; I’m not the same man. I have everything to lose now. Vinny’s a desperate man, but what he doesn’t understand is what he’s holding beneath that sharp blade. My world.
Standing straight, I aim the barrel at his chest. “That wasn’t my doing.” I spit.
There’s no point trying to reason with him.
“Eye for an eye. Can’t find the men who did it...yet. She’ll do for now.” He shrugs, running the dull side of the knife against her soft shoulder. She tries to be strong, but I can see her body shaking violently.
My finger lightly squeezes the trigger. The only thing stopping me is the fear of him accidentally cutting her, even the slightest nick on her skin won’t be tolerated.
“Put the gun down, or this pretty one gets a gash on her precious face.” His voice is devoid of any emotion. He sounds…bored.
I don’t obey. The second I do, I’ll be a target for his men. If I die, who will keep the girls safe?
“Wrong choice.” He sneers, lightly skimming her cheek with the blade.
I growl lowly as she cries out, a line of blood dripping down her face.
“See, Aiden.” He drawls, his voice laced with humor. “I have your sorella and your piccolo. I want to keep them. They’re just so…obedient when they’re passed out.” He chuckles.
As he laughs, hatred fuels me. He has to die.
“If you fucking touched either one of them, I swear to God.” I choke.
The odds are against us, I know they are. But Emma shouldn’t have to see me this way, and she definitely shouldn’t see what I’m about to do. If I die, it will only be after I squeeze the life out of every man in this fucked up warehouse.
I stare at Emma’s beautifully terrified face, trying to memorize her every feature. I mask the anger in my voice, using that gentle tone I always use with her, not wanting her to remember my last words as mean or hateful. “Close your eyes.”
I thank God she listens, because the second her eyes close, I pull the trigger. A loud bang sounds and a bullet pierces dead between Vinny’s eyes. Bullets fly, ricocheting in every direction.
Four men left.
I shield Emma with my body, she cries out for me, but I can’t turn for even a second. Ricky does the same for Ashley.
Only three men left.
Ricky wails in agony.
I turn to see him bent over, a bullet wound to his leg. Ashley is fighting against her chains to be by his side.
“I’m fine.” He growls, straightening before pulling the trigger.
One to go.
Lucio Matarazzo, Vinny’s brother. His eyes burn with unadulterated rage as he glances at Vinny. Blood pools beneath his head, and the sight makes me laugh.
I want Lucio to suffer, the others died too quickly for my liking. I shoot his hand and his gun clatters to the ground as he shouts. I throw my head back, unable to control my dark laughter at the sight of his world falling apart.
Caught in my quest for vengeance, I fail to notice the gun hidden in his waistband until I hear a loud bang and a burning pain sears my chest as the bullet slices through me. Emma’s piercing scream rings in my ears as I look down and see red seeping through my white T-shirt at an alarmingly fast rate.
I curse myself for not wearing black. The girls shouldn’t have to see this.
I grunt as the pain grows. I press down on the wound, trying to stem the blood. Luckily, I hear Lucio’s gun jamming. Feeling faint, I do the only good thing I’ve ever done in my life. I empty my magazine into Lucio’s chest as my sight blurs and I feel my body going slack.
My sister’s safe. My girl, my beautiful girl, is
safe.
I will gladly bleed out on the cold concrete if it means she will not endure another scratch.
Fourteen
Pain. The overwhelming agony when you lose someone you love is unbearable, unthinkable. No words can express the emotions when your heart is ripped from your chest and stepped on. When a life is cut too short.
Pain, they say, gets better with time. Thank God I won’t have to find out.
Thank God Aiden is okay.
I watch his still body on the hospital bed, connected to beeping machines, with heavy eyes. Their rhythmic beeps echo inside my head as I wait for him to open his eyes. Needles are sunk into his skin and a bandage covers his entire chest.
I hold my breath when I hear a groan.
“Did they touch you?” are the first words out of his lips.
I laugh. I know I shouldn’t, but my heart is filled with so much joy. A weight has been lifted from my chest.
“No.” I make my way to his bedside, running my fingers through his black hair.
“Don’t lie.” He croaks, pushing himself up stubbornly.
I place a gentle hand on his shoulder, pushing lightly to get him to lie back down. He’s been unconscious for three days, massive blood loss and damage to his head will do that. He fell on the hard concrete upon blacking out, it broke my heart that I couldn’t reach him as I fought against my restraints.
He tilts his head, taking in the bandage on his chest, and ignores it. “Please, tell me.” His fingers circle the healing scab on my cheek, like it’s something serious.
I bite my lips, embarrassed. I shake my head. “They didn’t. Ashley and I, we’re kind of in sync.” I gesture to my abdomen.
He shoots me a confused look.
I sigh. “I started my period that morning, so did she...” I blush.
He smiles, gesturing for me to continue.
“We...we both had tampons in. Still intact.” I put my hands in front of me.
“Thank God.” He wraps a heavy arm around my waist and pulls me onto the bed, laying me across his chest.
I gasp, yanking myself away. “Are you crazy?” I exclaim, moving to check his bandage. “I could’ve squished you and opened your stitches!”
He rolls his eyes. “Oh, baby, you can’t even squish a fly.” He pins me with puppy eyes, his voice soft and warm. “Please come here.”
I carefully pillow my head on his chest, sighing as he plays with my hair.
Aiden wasn’t too surprised when the doctor came by to explain what happened the past three days and how lucky he was to be alive. The bullet went through and through, and he passed out from blood loss. He even had stitches on his head from when he hit the concrete. What surprised me most was when the doctor accepted a wad of cash from a guard to keep quiet about everything.
He looks so broken lying on that hospital bed, I want to wrap his massive frame in my small arms and hold him. Thankfully they’ll discharge him in a few days after monitoring the swelling in his brain.
“We need to talk about what’s going on though,” I hedge, feigning a calm expression.
I heard the men inside the warehouse. I know Aiden is doing some shady business. I trust him to keep me safe, but do I want that for the rest of my life? Maybe it’s not as serious as it sounds. Aiden’s a good guy. It probably is a misunderstanding.
He rubs his face. “I know, Em.” He sighs. “It’s a long story. Maybe when we get home?”
My heart flutters when he calls it home, our home.
Which reminds me… “So, I went home to change and found all of mine and Ashley’s stuff in your living room?”
A half-smile creeps up his face. “You’re going to kill me.”
I nod, eyeing him warily. What did he do?
“Your rental is in Ashley’s name. I kind of took the paperwork and broke the contract.”
“You what?” I push myself up and glare down at him. But I can’t stay mad with him looking so broken.
He shrugs. “You live in a shithole, Em. I’m not going to allow it.”
“I think that’s my decision,” I point out.
He shakes his head. “You would never do that to your mom. I know you’re both going broke. It’s only a matter of time.” His eyes plead with me to understand.
I take a deep breath. “Where are you moving us?”
“Well, I had this whole plan.” He laughs a humorless laugh. “I had some houses for the both of you to look at with a realtor once you finished shopping that day. You never got the chance.” He looks down.
I cup his cheek. “Okay, so explain why we never got the chance.”
I can’t be upset with him about the house thing, it isn’t just me living there...it’s his sister too. When he’s less bandaged, I’ll talk to him about it.
“I made a bad business choice.” His voice is gruff and thick. “I was in college, building my business. How do you think I got all this at such a young age? Definitely not from following the rules.” A small, deep laugh escapes his perfect lips.
He twirls my hair as I sit next to him, my fears becoming a reality. Who is he?
“I’m an investor. I didn’t lie about that.” He sighs. “I met a CEO of a large investment company, who saw that I could hold my own. He offered me a proposition. Take on the ‘criminal’ clients; Mafia, organized crime, that sort of thing.” He speaks nonchalantly.
“Why?”
He shrugs. “I wanted to be something. I have a piece of shit father, who’s no help in my life. I did everything on my own, I had no privileges. I needed to be something more, so I thought, why not?” His eyes pierce mine. “I didn’t have anything to lose...until you.”
My voice trembles as I speak. “Will they come after you again?”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m hiring security detail for you and Ash. I’m also moving our stuff to another location. Don’t worry, it’ll still have pretty views.” He smiles.
“I don’t want this life anymore. What kind of castle do I have if the foundation is cracked and the throne is made of glass with nowhere for you to sit?”
His words warm me, but I can’t shake my fear. Being kidnapped is traumatizing and I’m terrified it will happen again. I’ve seen too much loss in my life, between my father being taken from us so suddenly to what I’ve just experienced… It’s too much.
∞∞∞
After checking with the doctor five times to make sure Aiden will be okay, I hesitantly creep out of the room. I look back at his sleeping frame, remembering the feel of his hair as I stroke him to sleep before tearing my eyes away.
I almost turned around when I got to the lobby, almost.
I squint at the bright sun, lost in thought. Aiden’s left me homeless, but there’s still Mom’s. I get his sentiment of wanting to stash us somewhere nicer and safer. It’s sweet. How could he have foretold the events that happened?
I look down at my hands, still shaking from fear before lifting one to hail a taxi. I slip my phone out of the cracked window halfway towards Aiden’s building. Those men had us for too long, and I can’t risk them tracking me.
I keep a straight face as I speak with the security, telling him I’m getting a shower before taking some things back to the hospital, before stepping onto the elevator. I hesitantly walk into our room, his room, and begin to pack. There’s no way I can get my furniture and things from where the movers dropped it off, but I guess I could get my own moving company.
I probably won’t be doing another semester at college anyways since Mom is closing her shop. My heart breaks for her. Maybe I can get a job baking somewhere and help her with the bills.
My eyes landed on Aiden’s gift. I thought it funny when Aiden claimed he already had the Tiffany blue suitcase. I knew he got it for me as it’s my favorite color. But I can’t take it with me; I settle for one of his shirts instead.
I bury my face in the black fabric, inhaling the intoxicating scent that is Aiden. Mint and leather, with a hint of smoke. A tear falls as I place
the trunk on the bed before stuffing my belongings in a trash bag.
I thank God my car is parked at the penthouse.
“Hello baby.” I pat the hood of my Altima and climb in. I wonder if Aiden has woken up and realized I’m gone.
First stop, gas station and a burner phone.
I need to know if Aiden and Ashley are okay. I know it’s selfish to leave, then check up on him. But I care about him, more than myself. Which is why I can’t let him chase me around, protecting me. He had a life before me.
I know he cares, but at what cost if I’m a burden in his life?
He said he wants to get his life together; I don’t want to hinder his progress. Hiring security to watch after me will just make him worry about me instead of focusing on himself.
∞∞∞
After what seems like days, I pull into the lot of Mom’s flower shop at three in the afternoon. My breath hitches in my throat when I see every single parking spot is claimed. It looks like everyone in town is here. I had hoped no one was around so I can cry on my mom’s shoulder.
I squeeze my Altima into a tight spot and head for the front door, passing rose bushes and hundreds of colorful flowers. I always love coming here. The fact that she’s losing the place breaks my heart. The old brass bell rings as I step in.
I watch as Mom turns towards the door, ready to give her usual “Welcome to The Flower Patch!” catchphrase.
Upon seeing me, she squeals with delight and barrels towards me. She wraps me in a tight hug I didn’t know I needed. One of her famous Pamela Banks hugs. Her freshly highlighted hair masks my face as she clings tightly to me. She looks good, well-rested and happy.
Too many people are dotted throughout the place for me to cry and I hold it in, as she pulls back.
She looks me over, a slight frown taking shape on her round face. “Oh, honey. What happened?”
Her concerned voice unravels me. I’m lucky the shop is completely packed, noisy enough to muffle my sniffles. Kids laughing and the pitter-patter of their shoes against the hard floors as they run around. Grandparents fighting over which flower to plant in their yard, and finally…the clicking of my mother’s impatient shoe.
