by BL Mute
Raising my head, I let out another deep breath. I try to make sense of it all by pacing. Businessmen? Businessmen? That makes no sense. The carpet begins to give way to my repetitive motions. Businessmen don’t carry Glocks. They don’t take in random women, basically against their will, and break them down to be used. It makes no sense.
I sit down on the bed and attempt to unscramble my thoughts, but every road leads to the same ending. The same word that continues to ring in the back of my mind like a church bell during service. Mafia. Everyone knows Northridge Heights has them. The gangbangers, junkies, suppliers, etcetera. But no one ever speaks about the Mafia, and if they do, it’s never by a direct name. No one knows who they are.
“No one ever identifies us by name.” Lucas’s words grow louder and continue to replay in my head. My thoughts become white noise in the background.
Living in Arizona and being so close to the Mexico border, everyone assumes it’s the cartel that runs the city. They bring in drugs and push them to poor souls who can’t say no. But if being the chief’s daughter has taught me anything, it’s to never assume you know something based on what you see on the surface.
My thoughts are interrupted as my door opens. Teddy walks in with a bucket of ice.
“Come on.”
I raise my brow at him, but he ignores it and walks into the bathroom. “Do you ever get tired of being so demanding?” I huff.
He throws the ice into the tub that’s already piled with it and ignores me. If I was smart, I’d stop questioning him. If he is who I think he is, then he can have me wiped from the earth without a shred of evidence.
“What are you doing?” I ask, leaning on the doorjamb.
“Lucas said you took a few good hits. You may not feel it now, but you will later. This will help.”
I nod and walk to the edge of the tub. Teddy backs away and leans onto the counter with his arms crossed, watching me.
“I don’t need you to babysit me. I know how to take a bath unsupervised.”
Again, he doesn’t speak. He just stares at me.
I turn my back to him, deciding I don’t want to argue. I feel the small zipper on the tips of my fingers, but I can’t quite reach it to pull it down. Twisting my body and arms, I keep trying.
“Stop.”
My arms fall limply to my side with his demand. He leans in, and his breath falls on my shoulder. Slowly, and with purpose, his big hands trail down my back until they reach the zipper. With ease he slides it down, letting his knuckles brush against my skin. His touch sends a jolt of electricity through me, and my core tightens.
I can feel his face in my hair. “Get in.” His words are low and almost a whisper. He removes his hands, letting my dress fall to the floor.
I step into the cold water with my bra and panties still intact. As soon as my toes touch the water, my body erupts in goose bumps. The sensations of the ice touch every nerve ending in my body as I slowly lower myself in. I sink down, trying not to let my teeth chatter.
In an attempt to take my mind off the frigid water, I look to Teddy. “Can I ask you something?”
He motions his chin toward me, as if granting me permission to ask.
“Are you going to kill me?” I try to sound strong, but the words come out on a squeak.
I would like to think if he liked my father, I’m safe, but I can’t bet my money on it. I know I’m hard to handle and mouthy, and I know men like him don’t like that.
“No.”
“Is that all you know how to say? I’ve been with you for over twenty-four hours now and ninety percent of every word you’ve spoken to me is no.” I sink further into the water, letting it inch up my shoulders.
He bites his lip with a grin. “I have plans for you, Monkshood. Where a man cannot go, he will send a woman.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” My body shakes from the chills, and I’m unable to distinguish if they are from his words or the cold water.
“No one will ever suspect a woman to work for me, no one will suspect her to know what I do, and they most definitely won’t suspect her to kill.”
“So, you want to groom me to be your attack dog, not your bodyguard?”
“There is more to it than that.”
“Tell me,” I demand, not sure I even want the answer.
“In time, Monkshood.” He grins at me.
I stand from the tub’s floor and slowly step out onto the plush rug. “If you expect me to be on your side, then I need to know what you want from me, and what you know about my father.”
He steps closer. “You need to remember who you’re speaking to. You will know what I want you to know, when I want you to know. Understood?”
I nod, letting my eyes fall to the floor. His arms wrap me in a warm towel.
“Go get dressed. We have some things to discuss.” He waves me off like an annoying fly, then leaves the room.
My body aches, but I’ll be damned if I miss out on any small bit of information. I hurry and dry myself, throwing off my wet bra and panties before I slip into the clothes I had originally picked out this morning.
Once my feet are pushed into the Nikes, I hurry out of the room and start searching for Teddy. I pass the library and kitchen, then move down the hall to the gym, and there is still no sign of him. Finally, I walk past the glass doors leading to a balcony and see him and the twins hunched over the wire table.
I push open the door and take a seat next to Julius. He doesn’t look at me when I sit, but Lucas does. He looks at me through hooded eyes while grinding his teeth. “Nice of you to join us, Flower.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it, pretty boy.”
Teddy’s eyes bounce between the both of us. “Lucas, you will do good to remember what I’ve said,” he grinds out.
He throws his hands up and flashes that fake smile my way. “You got it, boss.”
I shake my head at Lucas, returning the same Pan Am smile, then turn to Teddy. His eyes are on me, all of me, and it makes me feel a weird sense of belonging. I’ve never been wanted by a man, but being wanted by him, even just as an accomplice, or whatever the fuck I am, makes me feel some sort of way.
I brush my growing emotions from my mind and try to focus on what he wants to discuss. I want to know why I am here, the real reason, and I want to know now.
“Charlotte,” Teddy says calmly. “There are things you need to know, but I won’t tell you everything. As I had stated prior, you will know what I want you to know, when I want you to know it.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean back into the chair. “Five minutes ago wasn’t the time, but now is?”
“Yes.” He lowers his eyes to mine, daring me to undermine him again. I stay silent, waiting for him to continue.
“I never knew my parents. They ran off when I was a baby, leaving me with my grandparents. I never cared or wanted to know why. My Pops and Mims were my parents as far as I was concerned. They were good and honest people who raised me the best way they knew how, but after my Pops passed away, my Mims followed him.
“I was seventeen and on the streets alone, but it never stopped me from doing what I had to do. One day I walked into a convenience store with the sole purpose to steal the old stale crackers they kept on the shelf. I shoved them into my jeans and hurried out, but I didn’t make it far. A man in a nice suit with shiny shoes,” he chuckles, “stopped me on the sidewalk and asked if I stole. I didn’t lie to him. I admitted I did but didn’t say anything else. My Pops always told me a lying man is no man at all, and it always stuck with me.
“He admired my honesty and told me, ‘A lying man is no man at all, but you never steal from other honest people.’ The man who said that was Cedric Hale. After talking to him on that sidewalk for what seemed like hours, he offered me a job. He was obsessed with classic cars and had a pretty hefty collection. I spent all my days polishing them and tinkering with them. I never knew what he did, or even cared, because he gave me a nice place to live and food in m
y stomach. He quickly became someone I looked up to. He became my family.
“After a couple of years, he started asking me to do more, giving me more responsibility. Not only did I spend my time with his cars, but I also started accompanying him on business trips. That’s when I finally learned what he did. What our family did.
“More years had passed before I finally became his laundryman. I would get all the bags he would set out for me and take them to get washed about once a week.”
“Wait.” I wave my hand. “You did this man’s laundry? That’s a bit degrading, don’t you think?” I ask.
He flashes me a smile before going on. “I never touched his clothes. His laundry was thousands of dollars. Every week I would run to the bank and deposit money in different accounts. That’s when I started to see your dad.”
I bite my tongue and kick myself under the table, feeling stupid for not picking up the reference. Of course a man like Teddy wouldn’t do laundry.
“He never spoke to me, but it seemed as though he had caught on to my schedule. Every day I would go to the bank, and he would be parked across the street, in his car, watching me. I told Cedric about him, but he told me not to bother with him, so I listened. I never questioned Cedric. Apparently, he had already met your father at a car show, and they had an understanding. He knew what we did didn’t affect the people of Northridge Heights. He turned the other way when it came to us.”
“No. That isn’t possible. My dad wasn’t a dirty cop!” I practically scream.
“He wasn’t. He was just after bigger fish.”
“What do you mean? Who was he after?”
All these years I thought I knew my dad, but apparently, I don’t know him at all. He would never look the other way when it came to anything at all, regardless of what he was after. He was an honest man who lived by a strong moral code. My head starts to ache at the thought of my dad being a stranger.
He holds up his finger to silence my questions. “Not long after I turned twenty-seven, Cedric died, leaving everything he had to me along with the family business. The word of his death spread quickly, which wasn’t surprising. At his funeral, your dad finally approached me. That was the first time I heard him speak. He had a proposition for me.”
“Proposition?”
“It’s rude to interrupt, Flower,” Lucas chimes before Teddy can reply.
Teddy leans across the table and levels his eyes with mine, demanding my attention without saying the words. “Like I said, the word of his death spread quickly. The cartel knew within a matter of minutes, it seemed, and took the opportunity to push more drugs than they ever had. They made the mistake of crossing into my territory though. Your father wasn’t happy about it either. He told me we needed to stop them. If they kept going at the pace they were, bringing things over from the border more than three times a week, the feds would catch on, and then it would be a huge issue for him, and me and my guns. He promised me he wouldn’t cross my path if I made the cartel stop what they were doing.”
I bite my tongue, trying to think if I really want to interrupt again. Fuck it. “What do you mean, you and your guns?”
He shakes his head and leans back in his chair. “That’s our trade. We deal in all types of weaponry, but mainly guns, locally, and abroad. Now—” He leans close to me again. “—as I was saying.
“Your father was adamant about bringing the cartel down any way we could, but he was a cop. He wanted things done the right way or close to it, and all I wanted was to kill them. It was my time to establish dominance and show them Cedric may be dead, but the Hale name would live on along with the business.
“I’ve never been a fan of cops and tried not to associate with them unless it was necessary, but your father and I had an understanding. We both wanted the same thing. For the following ten years, I worked my side of things, getting close and finding leads in my own way, while he did the same. I had never spoke to him after the day at Cedric’s funeral until recently.
“The night before he died, he called me and said he figured it out, that he knew who was running shit and giving the cartel orders. He wanted to meet and give me the info, and I was free to handle it how I wanted, and he would clean up the mess. He was tired of chasing the same person for years and just wanted it done.”
After he finishes with the last sentence, my guard goes up and my body uncurls, on high alert.
Honestly, I’m not surprised one bit with everything he’s telling me about himself; my dad being painted as a dirty cop does though. “You lying piece of shit! He was not dirty,” I spit with my finger in his face.
He leans back again and lets out a breath. “Your dad was smart and knew legally his hands were tied. He wasn’t dirty, he just knew there was nothing he could do. None of the evidence he found would hold up in court. He had a driving force pushing him to bring down the cartel. I couldn’t tell you what that force was, but he wanted it badly. So bad he was ready to hand everything over to me. We had plans to meet the next morning, but it never came. Whoever or whatever he found was good because he was killed for it.”
The wheels turn in my head as I try to process what he’s saying. “So, you know who killed him, then?”
“I don’t, but I plan to find out. The cartel is dwindling slowly but surely. It won’t be long,” he says, never moving his eyes from mine.
“There has got to be something more to all of that,” I think out loud.
“I feel the same, Monkshood. I will figure it out,” he promises.
I nod, not trusting my voice not to crack. So much information has just been laid on me, and I don’t know how it makes me feel. I always thought my dad was good. He would never crawl into bed with… with people like Teddy. He would never look the other way if Teddy was dealing guns. What cop does? A dirty one. It’s almost like all my faith and trust in my dad is gone, and it’s a shame because he isn’t even here to defend himself.
I push all the thoughts away and stand from the table. “I can’t talk anymore. I can’t process anything else you want to tell me. I just need some time. I’m going to bed.” I turn my back to them and start to walk inside before they can protest.
“Monkshood,” Teddy’s voice sounds behind me quietly. I turn over my shoulder and give him a quick look. “Welcome to the family.” He dips his head.
I give him a fake, tight smile. My dad was my family, not this. And it seems as if everything I knew about him was a lie. If Teddy thinks I’m grateful for being included in his fucked-up family… or whatever the fuck this is, he’s wrong.
Lucas laughs from beside Teddy. “Nah,” he remarks. “Welcome to the Mafia, baby. I hope you’re ready to fight for what you love.”
I don’t acknowledge his words. I already had my suspicions of who they were, but after everything I just learned about my dad, I don’t even feel shocked. I knew they were bad. I knew they had to be doing something that wasn’t right. Lucas’s declaration doesn’t surprise me. My dad being made to look like a dirty cop does though. Regardless of what Teddy said, it doesn’t make any of this better, but if he’s telling the truth, my dad isn’t who I thought he was at all.
The silence wakes me. There are no sounds of cars driving by, or dogs barking. My first night here it never fazed me, but something about it doesn’t feel right. Maybe it’s all the info that was laid on me earlier, or maybe I’m just crazy, but it’s too quiet to sleep.
I sit up in my bed, throw my legs over the side, and stand. I turn toward my door and make my way to it quietly. I open it, step out, then let it fall closed softly behind me. I shuffle along the marble hallway toward the kitchen, thinking maybe something to eat will help me fall back asleep. The floor is cold like the atmosphere within this place.
As I get closer, I hear someone muddling around. I round the corner and come face-to-face with someone I know well. “Dr. Kelly?” I squint my eyes as I approach him.
He looks up from the counter with a startled smile. He sets down the gauze he had in his ha
nd, letting it fall beside all the tubes of antibacterial ointment and gloves on the counter. “Why, hello, Charlotte.”
I lean my hip onto the edge of the counter beside him. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on Theodore’s sutures. How are you feeling? Anything I can do for you?”
“You can start by telling me what’s going on. You’ve been my doctor, along with everyone else’s in this town, for years. How did you get tangled up with the Mafia?”
He chuckles, moving his hands around the counter grabbing everything and putting it into his old leather bag. “I didn’t get tangled up with them. I walked into all of this willingly.”
I tilt my head. “Why? Who would come into something like this willingly?”
His eyes turn sad, and his smile falls the slightest bit. “When it comes to love, you don’t question things like you should. Cedric, Theodore’s old boss, was someone close to me. He was my brother.”
His words sting. Not that they hurt me, but I know he must be hurting. I’ve never had siblings, but I know the pain I felt when I lost my dad. I’m sure he probably felt the same losing Cedric. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a brother.”
He chuckles again, letting his head fall. “We weren’t blood. Our folks were neighbors way back when. We grew up together but obviously took very different paths. Regardless, it never changed how I felt about him, and I made him a promise to watch over his boy.”
I nod, ready to ask more questions and see what I can get out of him. It may seem shitty, but I have things I need to do too. If my father wasn’t who I thought he was, maybe Dr. Kelly knew more about him. I open my mouth, but every question in the back of my mind dies on my tongue as Teddy hustles through the kitchen doorway, speaking to Dr. Kelly by his first name.
“Peter, I need you to stick around a bit longer. I have a feeling we may need you.” He shoves the cell phone in his hand into his pocket, then turns to me. “Why are you up? Is everything okay?”
Dr. Kelly nods to Teddy before setting his bag back down and leaving the room.
