Ballistic (37 page)

A few days ago I finally felt settled. Watching her change her own oil wrecked me
, in a good way. She may not need me for auto repair or grabbing dishes, but when she said, “You could love me,” thinking I couldn’t hear it, I knew I finally had gotten through to her. For her, my love was enough. If she needed something, she’d ask. Wanting my love in return meant everything. She hadn’t come out and said it directly, but she didn’t have to. Fuck, she never had to and I’d still know it.

She may not be overly affectionate
, but when she is, it’s fucking amazing because it’s rare and she means it. I’d asked her where she goes when she floats, then I asked her what brings her back. Her answer to the first was, “a quiet place all her own” and the second was me. I brought her back.

Puffed chest much?

My only thought upon waking was of her. I’ve never been one to pray
, but today I did. I prayed that she didn’t come here. His end game wasn’t me, it was her. This is my fault. I put her in his path the day I asked him to watch her when I couldn’t. Of course he figured out what she could do and wanted her for his own. I trusted him with her safety when I should have done it myself. I trusted the devil and look where it got me. Trapped in hell. Opening my eyes is a struggle. My body is still heavy, but it seems as though my brain is working again. Looking around the room, I’m in the corner of a bedroom. The pain in my shoulders and wrists tells me I’m tied to the radiator and that my ankles are bound too.

I can hear voices inside the house
, but I don’t recognize any of them. Dozing off, I’m jolted awake by what sounds like a jet plane hitting the house, followed by Lina screaming my name.
God no,
I think to myself, closing my eyes. She shouldn’t have come here. But it’s Lina. Did I really expect any different?

Minutes later
, the door opens and she’s thrown into the room with the door slamming behind her before she can get back up.

“Anthony,” she says
, breathlessly scrambling to get to me on her hands and knees.

“You’re hurt,” I growl
, seeing her eye starting to bruise.

“I’m okay,” she whispers
. “Julian that piece of fuck.”

“He hit you?”

“No he’s too much of a bitch,” she mumbles, trying to release me. “That fucking cop Carlo did though and I’ll be kicking his sac in later for that one.”

“Lina,” I beg her
. “Look at me.”

“I’m kinda busy right now, coach,” she says
, pulling on the ties securing my ankles. She breaks one free and struggles with the other. “Fuck! I left my escape kit in the truck.”

“Lina,” I groan
. “Please.” When she looks up and into my eyes, I realize I never I said the words. Not the right way, anyway. Lina takes her cues from me and I should have seen that and done something about it. 

“They’re coming,” she whispers
. “Fake sleep.”

Then
, wrapping herself around me, I feel her tense, then hold me tighter as they try prying her away from me. “No,” she growls, swinging blindly and catching one in the jaw.

“You little cunt,” he says
, backhanding her hard. When she crashes to the floor, I can feel my skin tearing at the wrists in an effort to get to her. Slowly she stands up, wipes her knees off, spits blood and stares him down. “You are going to be so sorry you did that.”

“Enough,” Julian
says, entering the room, looking only at her. “Christ, I said not to hurt her, you fucking idiot!”

“She fucking clocked me!” he defends and before he can utter another word
, Julian raises his pistol and shoots him right between the eyes.

“Shit
, Julian!” she yells, jumping up and down. “Warn a girl first!”

“My apologies,” he says
, approaching her, checking her for more injuries. “But no one puts their hands on you.”

No notice was given. One second she was standing completely still
, and the next she cold cocks him square in the jaw. “My apologies,” she says, jumping from foot to foot ready for more. “But no one takes my fucking man from me either.”

“What is this?” he asks
, laughing. “You’re going, to what? Fight me for his freedom?”

“Fuckin’ a right I am, Russo,” she growls
. “You plan on shooting both of us? Me first, I’m right here bitch.”

“Jesus,” he says
, rolling his eyes. “I’m not the villain here Lina, he is.”

“Yeah? How’s that? He wasn’t the one going around plugging cops in the head
. You were. Actually, you’re a pussy and threatened other cops to do it
for
you. Couldn’t let the past go, could you? Had to take over Daddy’s business. Well guess what, we’re in a recession dickhead and Detroit can’t afford to invest in your brand of fucked up. Changing your name was slick, kudos for that, but you should have just stuck with being a sleazy attorney. I could
almost
respect that.” When he makes a move toward her, she squares off. “I’m warning you fucker, you take one more step and I’m going to drop you, hard.”

“It’s hard to see you as tiny when you puff up like this,” he chuckles
. “Then again, most of our time together was spent with you on your back and me dishing out pain the way you liked it.”

“It was a phase,” she says
, looking amused, only I can see she isn’t. “I’m totally over it.”

“You were over it when you asked me to choke you? Or was it when you wanted your wrists bound to the point of breaking? I was there
, Lina. I remember the look of rapture on your face when I hurt you.” My blood was boiling hearing him taunt her like this. He did to throw her off balance and destroy me in the process. Lina can’t take any one else getting in her head right now, especially someone she trusted at one time. Watching his face and listening to his words I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. All these years I considered him a friend. He wasn’t a friend, he was a monster and I was fucking helpless to stop him.

“I see what you’re doing here,” she says
, with a wicked smile. If you knew what to look for, you’d see Julian’s words were affecting her even if she refused to let him see it, I could. I’ve wondered here and there if my brand of sex was enough for her, but after hearing this bullshit, I knew it was. Lina doesn’t lie. She also changed, just like I did. We gave each other what we needed and that’s what mattered. Julian wanted me to doubt her, he wanted to rub their brief time together in my face too. Nothing Julian could say would alter the way I see Lina. Focusing solely on her, one second she looked fragile and the next her look morphed into one I hadn’t seen before. Fuck. Lina was feeling cocky.

“You don’t possess the means to fuck with my head, Julian. You did as you were told because you got off on that shit, not me. Hell, let’s be real here
. There’s only one man who ever brought me to my knees with just his mouth and sorry it wasn’t you,” she says, looking directly at me. “It was him.”

“You lie!”

“I don’t and you know that,” she says in a firm voice. “I knew that if I met
that
guy, the bullshit I asked you, and countless others for, would fade away and it did, Julian. You’re a memory. Any memories before him aren’t worth my time.”

“I could kill him,” he says
, approaching her, “right now and then what would you do?”

“I’d kill you in return,” she says
, bracing herself. Renewing my struggles was useless but, I needed to rip his fucking head off. Paying me no attention when he approached her, she met him half way and her body language made it clear she fully intended on taking him on herself. Not only was she feeling cocky, she was going to get herself killed. Lina is as territorial as they come and nothing short of a bullet was going to stop her. Even with the odds against her she wouldn’t back down from a fight. It was that moment with death knocking on both our doors; I realized that Lina loves me so much that she would die on my behalf and she’d do it proudly.

“Lina,” I growl
. “No.”

“I got this
, coach,” she says, winking at me. “You just stay put.”

“I don’t have time for this,”
Julian says, banging on the door. It opens and two men come in, assumedly cops. She crouches low, but they subdue her easily. Kicking and thrashing she’s only hurting herself, but she doesn’t seem to notice. Turning to me, Julian puts his pistol under my chin. “What’s it going to be old friend?” he asks. “Would you like to watch what comes next or do you prefer the humane thing and to be put out for this?”

“I trusted you,” I growl
. “Let her go, god dammit.”

“Let her go? After I went to all this trouble to get her here?”

“Don’t,” I warn him. “She’s done nothing.”

Kneeling in front of me he whispers
, “She’s done everything, my friend. I’m afraid I can’t let her go this time. I told you she was it. She belongs to me, my secret weapon. I’ve spent a lot of time and resources to make this happen. After all, wasn’t it you who didn’t want my leftovers?”

“I will fucking kill you
,” I vow, then he takes the butt of his pistol and slams me in the temple with it. The daze and pain doesn’t compare to the torture of hearing her screaming for me. Looking up and seeing her trying to break free to get to me, guts me deep. Veins are popping out of her neck and she looked like she could dislocate her shoulders at any moment. “Lina,” I whisper. “Don’t fight.”

“Listen to him, Lina,”
Julian suggests. “I don’t want you hurt unnecessarily.”

“Fuck you
, murderer!” she screams. “There’s a special place in hell for your ass and I’m going to put you there!”

Approaching her
, he gets in her face. “Cease this now or I will slit his throat while you watch. Do you understand me?”

“
Oh I understand,” she says calmly. “I’ll make you a deal. Let him go and I’ll pinky promise to kill you without smiling.”

“I can’t do that
, sweetheart,” he says. “He was never meant for you, Lina. You live for pain; he lives to make his dead parents proud. You and I have something in common, let’s show him shall we? ”

Grabbing her breast hard
, she goes ballistic, I go ballistic and that sick fuck gets off on all of it. At that moment I know what he is going to do. He would do it too, I knew he would. He would rape her in front of me. Wrapping her hair in his fist and yanking hard, she lets out a small scream but doesn’t stop fighting. Pulling as hard as I can at my bindings, I have to stop him. Right now I’d chew my god damned arms off if I could.

“Julian
, god dammit no!” I scream, hoping to get his attention. When he turns to face me, pulling her with him, I don’t see tears in her dark eyes. I see fury.

Both men hold her while she strains to get to me. Looking me dead in the eyes
, she seems to know what’s coming and wants to spare me from it. “I love
you
,” she says in a powerful voice. “You, Anthony Gallo, no matter what they do to me, it’s you. You’re my truth and I’m fucking coming back for you.”

“Do not look at him!”
Julian growls, dragging her to the floor where they continue to hold her down. “He’s your truth? He was using you!” he screams, ripping her shirt from her body. “But you liked being used, don’t you?”

Fighting him
them all, she screams right back at him. “Fuck you, pussy!” He’s fighting to remove her jeans next, she’s fighting to keep them on and the blood dripping in my eyes is akin to waving the red flag at a charging bull. But I’m not charging anything. I’m attached to a god damn radiator forced to watch the woman I love fight to keep from being raped by a mad man. “You want this? You’ll have to fucking kill me to get it!” The fear I felt right now was too much. I refuse to stop yelling even when my voice starts to give out. I needed his attention on me, not her. I needed him the hell away from her. God dammit, I needed a fucking miracle.

I’m a junior when my fifth hour honors sociology teacher asked me to stay after class
. I was more than happy to. She was a super cool lady with an open mind and understood me on a basic level most people didn’t. She was also very honest. Staying in my seat, she comes over with a piece of paper and an envelope. “Take this home, fill it out and bring it back to me tomorrow.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a scholarship form. When you fill it out and get your parents signature, you’ll get a full recommendation from me and I’ll send it out and then set up your interview.”

“Why are you doing this for me?” I ask
ed with emotion clogging my throat. No one does for me. I do for me. Taking my hand and putting the envelope in it, she smiles when she said, “I see your potential, I want you to have a chance to see your potential too. You’ll do big things Lina, this is the first step toward doing that.”

“Okay,” I whisper
ed, clutching it tight in my hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

My entire walk home
I stared at the paperwork. Mentally going over what my description of myself would be, what my plans were and hoping the captain would add his recommendation as well. Going to Wayne State may not be a dream for some, but it was for me. After eating dinner in my room because I wasn’t invited to the table anymore, I asked both of my parents to sign the form for me because I’m a minor.

“Why should I do anything for you?”
my mother said first, snatching the paper from me.

“It would get rid of me sooner,” I remind
ed her. “The scholarship would cover my costs and I’d still work. It won’t cost you anything except your signature.”

“This means a lot to you?”

“It means everything to me.”

Then she
smiled, looked down at my future right there in print and ripped it into a million pieces. That was the first time that I ever truly wanted to kill someone. But it wouldn’t be the last.

Minutes go by and when he sees I’m not going to take this lying down
, (literally), he ups his game. “I have a surprise for you,” he says, hoping I’ll stop thrashing, but I won’t stop, I refuse. “You are as stubborn as a mule, Lina,” he whispers for only me to hear. “Bring them!” he yells toward the door and my stomach drops wondering who he was referring to. Not the girls, please oh fucking please, don’t let it be any of them. Pulling me up, I become eerily still. The door opens, but it’s not any of the people I love. Not even close.

It’s my parents.

Letting out a breath and glancing at Anthony, I see he’s dazed and in pain. If I survive this I’ll never get his screams for me out of my head.
Just a little bit longer, I got this
I try sending to him, but he’s focusing on the newest members of our party and not looking too pleased about it either.

“Help us,” she whimpers in the cops grasp
.

“Do whatever he says
, Halina,” this from my father who, for the first time ever, actually looks afraid of something.

“You know what I want,” he coos at me
. “You can end all this by saying yes.”

“Him,” I say
, hooking my thumb over to Anthony. “I’ll fight to the death for. Them,” I point at the strangers in front of me. “if you handed me your gun, I’d shoot them myself.”

“You lie,” he says
, frowning. “You wouldn’t harm your own parents, that’s insane.”

“I don’t lie,” I remind him
. “And I would more than harm my own parents. Believe that.”

“Halina!”
my mother shrieks. “You are my only daughter! Save me!”

“I’m nothing to you,” I tell her with no emotion. “To either of you. This man plans to
torture me and kill the man I love and yet I should save
you
? So much for being selfless, huh?”

She starts to really panic and looks over at Anthony who’s quietly watching. “Anthony
, help us!”

“No,” he whispers
, looking at them both with pure disgust.

Staring them down with narrowed eyes
, I offer a solution. “If you tell me the truth, I’ll figure out a way to help you both. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes
, yes!”

“Do you love me
, Mom?” When she stays silent, I ask again. “Do you love me? Even just a little bit?” Her eyes turn angry as always, only it doesn’t make
me
angry anymore. I’ve accepted my parent’s hatred but clearly it still feeds hers. “I’m waiting, Ana.”

“Yes!” she screams with fury
. “I love you! We
both
love you!”

Just once
, I wanted her to tell me the truth. One fucking time. Signing to myself, I reach my hand behind me asking Julian for his gun. I never expected him to actually give it to me but, he did. Maybe because he had his men here and even if I tried to do the noble thing, I’d be dead before I got very far, so he took the chance. When I feel the cold steel press into my palm, I look up at the strangers who birthed me. Who beat me, hated me, taunted me and spent their lives trying to break me. Releasing the slide to make sure I was loaded up, I knew this would change me. I couldn’t undo this, but I would do it just the same.

My parents
aren’t leaving here alive, that’s a given, but they are too stupid to understand that. Even now when my life is in the balance, they want to save themselves. That’s not love. That’s just sad.

Raising it up
, I ignore the shock in her hate filled eyes and fire one round. To the right, I look into my father’s soulless eyes and fire a second round. Both men release their hold on them out of pure fear while I watch without emotion as they hit the floor as a couple. Bringing my arm down and extending it behind me, I give Julian back his gun and drop my head.

“Well
, that backfired,” he said, scratching his head. “Never saw that coming.”

I stay
silent to see what his next move was and Julian he walked over to Anthony who, to be honest, looked half in shock, half proud and fired one round directly into his stomach.

That
was when I went ballistic.