Against The Wall (25 page)

“I doubt he’s going to walk in here and shoot me,” Terry insisted. “Or he would’ve done it already.”

Jay caught her blue-eyed gaze and held it. That’s what worried him. Frank would take his revenge with a pound of flesh. Terry’s flesh.

“I’ll be okay,” she assured him quietly. “I can handle myself.”

The vision in Jay’s head of Terry against two or more of these guys made his skin crawl. Sometimes her confidence went beyond the realistic. She just seldom realized it.

He’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop since Facinetti’s goons had shoved them back to this basement yesterday and locked them down.

“Do you think Jess figured out what we told her?” Terry asked softly. She leaned her head against his shoulder and all the anger rushed out of him. He could never stay mad at her and God knew he loved her because she was a fighter. It wasn’t like he wanted to see her get mauled in front of his eyes and he had to admit the sweet satisfaction he felt at watching Frank double over when she’d kneed his groin.

“I don’t know,” he said, rubbing his stubbled cheek against her hair. Damn he needed a shave. All of them did. He’d never seen the boys with so much facial hair. They looked more like men than ever before. “I hope she did,” he said, trying his best to be optimistic.

The door opened and slammed against the wall with a bang. All of them jumped and the sick feeling in Jay’s stomach multiplied ten-fold.

Frank stood in the doorway, one angry man. More than angry. His gaze didn’t waver. He fixated on Terry with the darkest eyes Jay had ever seen. He pointed at her. “You. You’re coming with me.”

“No thanks,” Terry shot back. “I’m good right here.”

“Terry,” Jay hissed. This is just what he’d been talking about. Don’t escalate the conversation or aggravate the situation.

Frank strode toward Terry and the boys started smack talking, trying to deter him. He didn’t pay them any attention. Terry tensed, bent her legs. She wouldn’t hesitate to kick Frank and maybe the guy realized it because he kicked Terry’s leg aside, hard. Hard enough that she grunted and if Terry made a sound, it meant it hurt. The move put her off balance and Frank unlocked her cuffs and yanked her to her feet as she struggled. “Don’t fucking move,” he told her.

Instead of listening, Terry elbowed his ribs and half turned to slam her palm in his face, but Frank expected it and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tightly against him, keeping her back to his front. The noise escalated as the boys got louder.

Frank turned so they saw the grip he had on their mother. “You fucking shut up, or I snap her neck right now.”,” she whispered. sat That got the desired response. They all looked on just as helplessly as Jay, and just as panicked.

Turning back to Jay, Frank went on. “Here’s the deal, babe,” he said softly in her ear. He looked at Jay as he spoke to Terry, knowing full well he was talking loud enough for him to hear. “You and me are going into another room.” She struggled in his arms and he adjusted his hold, tightening the arm around her neck until she couldn’t breathe. Jay nearly went out of mind as he struggled against the cuffs holding him to the pipe. When she quit fighting, Frank loosened his grip and Jay took a steadying breath. “Like I was saying… You and me are going into another room and you’re going to be real nice to me.” She struggled again and Frank put his arm behind his back and returned with the biggest knife Jay had ever seen. Terry’s eyes widened. “And if you’re not nice to me, I’m going to fuck you right here, right now.”

Terry stilled and Jay’s stomach dropped to the floor. Bile collected at the back of his throat.

“You fight me at any point and the party moves center stage. Your boys, your husband…” Frank glanced at the boys then looked right at Jay, his smile evil, “… they’re going to watch me fuck you every which way but loose. You’re going to take it in your pussy, in your mouth and I can’t wait to try that sweet little ass. Any resistance adds a kiss of my blade.”

Jay wasn’t looking at Frank anymore. He watched Terry. Watched the fight go right out of her. She’d do anything to protect the boys, anything. That included submission if it meant sparing them seeing something as vile as their mother being raped or cut.

Jay felt Frank’s eyes on him, but he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how absolutely piss-in-his-pants scared he was for his wife. Terry, goddammit, Terry wouldn’t, or couldn’t, look him in the eye. She saw the writing on the wall and Jay did too. He needed her to know that as long as she stayed alive, nothing mattered. As long as she survived he’d love her ’til the end of time. Recovering from something so devastating wouldn’t be easy, but he’d be there every step of the way. As long as she survived.

He willed her to look at him and finally, right before Frank turned his grip across her middle into something else, something more sexual as he palmed her stomach, she met Jay’s gaze. He saw her struggle to stay still, her terror. She knew how to fight, how to defend herself, but the repercussions of fighting right now were too immense, so she didn’t move.

The boys were wide-eyed, breathing hard and pale, their fear and panic, palpable.

Jay wanted to howl. He wanted to lose it, but doing that might only insight Frank more.

I’m sorry.
He didn’t have to hear Terry say it. It was in her eyes. In the tears that didn’t fall. Submitting was against every cell in her body and that was what she was apologizing for.

“Don’t,” Jay said, forcing his gaze from Terry and looking at Frank. “I’ve got money. A lot of money.” He had what he’d saved for all the college tuitions, and his parents had plenty of money. “Whatever you want, just let her go. Leave her alone. You,” she whispered. sat want to pound out your frustration, take me out and work me over. Go ahead, keep the cuffs on and go to town, but leave her alone.”

Frank gave another evil grin. “I got money,” he said and Jay heard the blade slip into its sheath at Frank’s back. “It’s been a long time since I fucked a redhead.” He shoved Terry out the door and Jay closed his eyes and swallowed back bile.

They needed a miracle.

Jay had never really believed in miracles.

____________

Jess felt the hair on her nape and arms stand on end as she moved closer to the house at the end of the block. Three levels stacked high on the mountain that looked out to the Pacific Ocean. Tanner and she had driven by only once, not wanting to call attention to themselves as they passed.

A cool breeze blew off the water, but Jess didn’t care about the view. This close to the house, she felt urgency, a need to get there. They’d gone to the studio office first. It was the safest place for Maurice’s computer since security guarded every entrance. No one got in without a pass, with the obvious exception of Tanner the other night, but that had been an anomaly. Tanner had convinced her to fill out the paperwork and have his photo taken for a lot badge. That had eaten up twenty minutes, but now he had access to the studio and the office if he needed to get the computer for any reason. Jess agreed it was a good idea in case something happened to her.

Which she highly expected.

She was no dummy. She realized the trouble she was in. No illusions here. She was giving herself up. Of course something was going to happen to her. That was a foregone conclusion. Tanner had wanted to do this at night, but Jess couldn’t wait that long. Really, what was the point?

The house looked suspiciously quiet as she moved closer, using the neighbor’s large hedges to shield her. This house had a for-lease sign in front and looked completely deserted. That worked for her. Tanner was approaching from the other end and if her phone vibrated it meant he’d found a better way onto the property. He’d told her not to get too close without him, but a ferocious feeling in her gut told her to keep moving.

Jess quickly moved into the backyard and jumped up the wall. Grasping the top with her palms, she ignored the pain as rough brick bit into her palms. She heaved herself up until she could peek over the top. Facinetti’s terraced yard wasn’t large, but it had a lot of sections to it. Enough that might keep her hidden as she cased the place.

The longer she waited, the more that feeling in her gut multiplied. Jess took a deep breath, levered herself over the wall and dropped into the yard behind a gazebo. Scanning the back of the house, she didn’t see any cameras. The house itself seemed a little shabby. It needed new paint and the lawn furniture had seen better days. Toward the left side of the cemented porch, opened Venetian blinds covered French doors. To the right were two sets of large windows with big glass panes.

Jess edged her way closer to the house until she flattened herself along the back wall. She peeked through the window just as the door inside open,” she whisperedFacinettiatay bed and two people came in. She froze, completely unable to move when she spotted her mother getting tossed inside. Her heart nearly pounded out of her chest at the relief of seeing her mom alive. But just as soon as the feeling swamped her, it ended when the man backhanded Terry across the face. The force spun Terry into the wall before she hit the floor.

The man shut the door, locked it and turned. He wasn’t a giant, but he had mammoth shoulders, a nine-month-p to listen car

Chapter Nineteen

Paul had heard the commotion, grabbed his gun and ran for the lower level. He elbowed his way into the room between the two hulks Frank had hired, and stopped short. The sight of Frank lying face down on the floor momentarily paralyzed him. The curtains billowed from the ocean breeze and a giant hole in the window marked where a lawn chair had broken through. Glass littered the floor. Two of the new hires had guns trained on Terry St. John and another younger woman. They stood next to each other in the corner of the room, wide-eyed and waiting.

Paul didn’t take the time to make sense of anything. “Frank,” he said softly. He moved toward his friend, a man he’d known for thirty years, and knelt next to him, setting his gun on the floor. “Frankie…” Paul took his shoulders and turned him on his side, careful of the knife still lodged in his back.

Frank stared at him with panicked eyes. “Paulie…can’t feel my legs,” he rasped.

Oh, shit. Paul kept his panic under wraps and ignored the staggering amount of blood on the floor. He’d always joked that Frank’s knife was more like a machete and knowing that most of the eight inch blade was buried deep didn’t give him much hope. “It’s okay, Frankie. We’ll get you help. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Paulie. We can’t.” Frank shook his head. “Too many questions.”

“Fuck the questions.” Yeah, they both knew an ambulance was out of the question, but getting help wasn’t. “We’ll take you to a hospital right now, Frankie.” Paul looked over his shoulder. “Get a God-damn car ready to roll now,” he told the men behind him. “And get them the fuck outta here,” he added of the two women. He’d deal with them later.

Both men left the room. One with his gun on the women and the other down the hallway toward the garage.

The pool of blood steadily grew under Paul’s knees. He gave Frank a grim smile. “Frankie…what am I going to do with you?” he joked. “Here I,” she whisperedch lside and thought you were only going to fuck the one girl and you end up with two.”

Frank’s lips lifted in an attempt at a grin. “I wish,” he said before losing the smile. “They fucked me good.” He shook his head. “It’s bad, Paulie. I can tell it’s bad.”

“We’ll get you the best doc—”

“No.” Frank shook his head. “Not doing the hospital thing. I won’t be a helpless bastard getting a sponge bath from some two hundred pound nurse with a mustache.”

The image made Paul smile despite the seriousness of the situation. It was just like Frank to think the worst. “C’mon Frank, you might get a hot blonde you can finger while she’s rubbing you down. Nothing bad about that.”

“Car’s ready.” The second guy appeared in the doorway with a blanket in his hand. His gun holstered at his shoulder. “I’ll help you move him. We can get him on the blanket and carry him out like a stretcher.”

At least this guy had a brain in his head. “Good. Careful of his back,” Paul said, shifting to arrange the blanket so they could shift Frank onto it.

But Frank moved too fast. Paul should’ve seen it coming. He should’ve known better. In the split second it took to see Frank reaching for his gun, he knew he was too late. Maybe Frank’s legs didn’t work, but his arms and hands worked fine.

Paul took a breath to scream,
“No!”
as Frank aimed the gun, but the shot went off like a canon and took most of Frank’s head with it. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere.

Falling back, Paul landed on his ass and stared in shock at what was left of his friend. They’d been through everything together. Elementary school, junior high, high school. Frank had protected him for thirty years. He’d done all the dirty work and kept Paul clean. He’d always been an ear to listen and a rock to depend on. He’d mentored the new hires and kept them in line. He was an important part of the machine and just like that he offed himself.

Frank had watched his father crumble bit by bit in a nursing home for fifteen years and had always said he wouldn’t die a slow death. Compounding his father’s situation had been Paul’s sister’s fight with cancer. Sarah had whittled away to nothing after seven years. Frank wouldn’t live in a hospital or nursing home. He’d promised to take matters into his own hands before ever living out that fate.

He’d kept that promise.

But Jesus…it shouldn’t have happened this way. Frank was too young. At forty, he was just hitting his prime. Sure, he didn’t take great care of himself, but he enjoyed life.