Love and Sacrifice

Love & Sacrifice

(The Pierce Family Trilogy #2)

By Chelsea Ballinger

Copyright © 2014 Chelsea Ballinger

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written approval of the author except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Published by Chelsea Ballinger

Cover image created by Chelsea Ballinger

Cover image under license from Istockphoto.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, titles, places, characters, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement.

FOR MY READERS AND FELLOW DREAMERS

Prologue

Leon
is used to running.

He’s been running ever since he had his first drink at twenty-one years old on his birthday when his buddies got him drunk at Milo’s bar in Queens, New York. He remembers the cool feeling of a nice cold beer running down his throat after a long day; how the intoxicating alcohol simply dissolved his problems, erasing memories of his abusive father, the fact that his girlfriend was cheating on him with the whole neighborhood and the self-pity he felt working at his dead-end job as a bus boy at Kenny’s Steakhouse. Alcohol took away everything, the only problem is the liquor would soon wear off.

So Leon turned to drugs. First it was weed, a little joint here and there and he was fine, but it didn’t last long enough. Cocaine was next − that was the stuff. It took him to so many places in his imaginary heaven. By the time Leon was twenty-six and unemployed, he was introduced to heroin. That was it for him. Heroin launched Leon into a whole other universe. Leon loved drugs. He was a junkie and he was okay with it. If there was one thing he hated, it was running. He was always running, from the cops, grocery store clerks, pharmacists, and drug dealers he owed money to,  Tommy Dumas in particular.               “You better fucking stop, Leon!!” Tommy screamed as he chased Leon across an alleyway in Brooklyn. “I swear I will shoot your ass!”

             
Leon didn’t listen. He never listened. He ran until he couldn’t run anymore. Sick of running, Tommy pulled out his gun and aimed it at Leon’s scrawny legs.

             
“AHHHH!!!” Leon screamed as the bullet pierced his leg, causing him to fall into a puddle of water from this morning’s heavy storm. .Feeling like fire was running through his leg, Leon kept screaming while Tommy walked toward him, shaking his head. Kneeling down and turning Leon on his back, Tommy grabbed his dirty, foul shirt with his fist, lifting him to face him as he pointed the gun to his head. Leon shook with fright.

             
“I’m so sorry, Tommy. Man, I swear I didn’t know it was you!” Tommy rolled his eyes at Leon’s poor attempt at a lie. “I swear I didn’t do anything.”

             
“Then why did you run?” he asked in his calm, collected voice.

             
“I don’t know, man! You know I get screwed up in the head sometimes. Blame the drugs, man. Blame the drugs!”

“You thought you owed me money, didn’t you?”

              “No. No way.”

             
“Leon.” Tommy pressed the gun to Leon’s head.

             
“Alright! Alright! Yeah, man. I know I owe you about $200, but I swear I’ll pay it!”

             
“I’m not here about the money, Leon. And you owe me more than $200.” Tommy dragged Leon up and leaned him against the large, blue garbage bin.

             
“You’re not?” Leon asked, glancing back and forth between the gun and Tommy, trying to understand the situation. He glanced down at his leg. “Shit! Tommy, I need to go to the hospital.”

             
“And I will take you… once you tell me who killed Eddie Valentine.”

             
Leon paused. He’d never wanted it to come to this day, not again. He thought back to when the two cops had approached him, telling him they would pay money if he told them who killed Eddie Valentine. Leon couldn’t say no to money, so he told them, writing a whole statement and everything, but he never got the money. Instead, he got threats saying they’d kill him if he didn’t come to the courthouse when they needed him. He’d waited for them to contact him, but they never had, and later he saw on the news that those same cops were dead, and a judge and an assistant U.S. attorney were going to prison. He was relieved; he’d never wanted to snitch, especially on the guy who did it.

He would never forget the day he saw Eddie Valentine get killed. He had been hanging outside
Milo’s bar in the alley, waiting for a fix from Eddie himself. Eddie supplied him with pure heroin that night, one of the best he’d ever had. The Valentine family was known for the best, probably the best in New York. As soon as he’d made the deal, Leon couldn’t wait to get home and enter his parallel universe, but his journey was interrupted by sounds from behind the bar. Being a nosy guy, Leon had decided to look for the source of the sounds.

             
Peeking around the corner, Leon had seen Eddie getting beaten by a blond kid who couldn’t be more than sixteen. He was dressed in all black, and his eyes were the rarest blue he had ever seen. They were also eyes with little innocence, he thought to himself. His opinions about the blond boy came to an end when the boy pulled out a gun and pointed it at Eddie. Leon couldn’t believe what he was seeing, a kid, holding Eddie Valentine at gunpoint.

             
“Kid, don’t do this,” Eddie said, holding his stance , blood running down his face. “You’ll regret it. What’s your name, huh? Let’s talk about this.”

             
The kid walked closer to Eddie, the gun still pointed at his chest. Right then, Leon saw the little innocence the boy had left fade away.

             
“I’m Roman Pierce.” Eddie’s eyes faltered at the boy’s declaration of his name, a name that everyone knew, especially the Valentine family.

             
“I’m sorry, kid… I’m sorry,” Eddie said.

             
Roman’s face stilled for a moment. If he was affected by the apology, it didn’t last. He pulled the trigger five times, shooting into Eddie’s chest. Leon, in shock, witnessed not only the death of a notorious killer, but the birth of a new one.

             
“Tommy, you know if I tell you, he’ll  kill everyone he loves too. This guy has a family. I know he’s like a father to you, but the man is pure evil.” Tommy looked away, then back at Leon.

             
“Well an eye for an eye, right?” Tommy said coldly.

             
“Come on, Tommy. I know you. You’re not a monster. You don’t kill families. You still got some type of humanity left kid.”

             
Getting frustrated with Leon’s analysis of him, Tommy points the gun to his face.

             
“Leon, if you don’t give me a name, you know what he will do to you,” Tommy said calmly.

             
Leon had a choice, endanger the lives of innocent people or die a slow death from a man who knew no mercy. Despite Leon’s guilt, it didn’t override his selfishness.

             
“Roman… Roman Pierce.” Tommy knew of Roman Pierce, one of the most respected mobsters in New York, who had retired and moved his family to the suburbs.

             
“Roman Pierce. Are you sure?” Tommy asked.

             
“Yeah, kid. I remember everything.”

             
Tommy lowered his gun to the side. “Okay. Well you know he’s gonna want to hear the story, so come on.”

             
“Are you serious? I need to get to a hospital!”

             
“We’ll call a doctor to come look at you. Calm down.”

             
Leon looked at his leg and shook his head, watching his blood soak his jeans and shoe. He knew this was it, his last day on Earth, he only wished that they would let him get his fix before they did it, because even though Tommy didn’t know, Leon knew there would be repercussions for not saying who killed Eddie when it happened. If there was anyone who didn’t like waiting, it was Mickey Valentine.

Chapter 1

“First Impressions”

Tommy

            
 
“Hey, new guy!
”

I really don’t like this guy.

              I turn around to see my temporary coworker barely holding a gigantic crate filled with wine glasses.

             
“You think you can help me out here?” The crate is about to fall when I finally step in and carry it for him.

             
“Where does it go?” I ask.

             
“Over there, new guy.” He points towards a table laden with champagne bottles.

             
Setting the crate on the table, I walk back to the kitchen counter and continue putting hors d'oeuvres on silver trays. I hate this job.

             
“So, new guy, where are you from?” asks the annoying coworker.

             
“The name is not ‘new guy.’”

             
“Well, I mean you don’t talk a lot, so until you give me a name, maybe I’ll call you that.”

             
“Tommy,” I oblige.

             
“Well, Tommy, nice to meet you.” He sticks his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Russell.”

             
I reluctantly shake Russell’s hand. This guy looks like a typical blue collar frat boy. He’s definitely not a part of the demographics in my neighborhood.

             
“So, where are you from?” he asks me.

Okay, here we go with the nosy shit.

              “What makes you think I’m not from Eastbrook?”

             
Russell chuckles. “Because everyone from Eastbrook has money and you my friend do not look like you come from money. Also the little accent and the fact that I have never seen you before tells me you’re from the city. Brooklyn, maybe?”

             
“Hell’s Kitchen,” I answer.

             
“Really? Good part or bad part of the neighborhood?”

             
“Since you’re so good at reading people,” I say placing the last pate on the tray, “What do you think?”

             
He looks me up and down and nods. “Yeah, definitely the bad part. Why the hell are you in Eastbrook?”

I give him the
, “I’ll kick your ass” look.

             
“I mean, I’m not trying to be rude, but the only people who want to move here are rich families, not young people. It’s not really the city of fun here.”

He
has a point there.

             
“I’m housesitting for my aunt for the summer,” I lie.

             
“Where did she go?”

             
“You ask a lot of questions.” I keep my stern expression, glaring at him.

             
“Well, I talk a lot. My dad told me I get it from my mom, which is why he divorced her and married his masseuse.”

             
“So, I’m guessing your dad lives here.”

             
“Yep and my mom. She owns the catering company.”

             
“And you’re working for her?”

             
“Yeah, I like making my own money. We’re not all snobs here, HK.”

             
I scrunch my brow. “HK?”

             
“Nickname for ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’ You like it?” I say nothing and continue giving him the same threatening look.

             
His smile falters. “Yeah, so, we’re not gonna be friends, are we?”

             
“No.”

I’m not here to make friends.

              “Guys!” We turn around to see our very small Asian coworker bursting through the kitchen door. I think her name is Ming. “We need more hors d'oeuvres and champagne. Come on!”

             
“Don’t go all Korean on us Ming, jeez. We’re coming,” Russell says.

             
“I’m Chinese, jackass,” Ming snaps back, taking one of the trays. Russell grabs two champagne bottles and follows her out.

             
I lean back against the kitchen counter and close my eyes for a second, just needing to breathe for a minute. I’ve been here for three weeks so far and already this town is driving me nuts. I can’t wait for all this to be over. Once the investigation on Mickey is done, we can do the job and leave this place. This catering job is just a front. My real job is to watch the target, the man we’re going to kill.

             
My first step was to find a way in. I did once I found out about the graduation party for the Pierce’s daughter. The catering company that was hired for the party was looking for workers, so I found my way in. That’s why I’m here today, putting up with all this serving bullshit in the Pierces’ home.

             
I look around and see the small party enjoying themselves. The Pierces’ bodyguards − I count ten in the room − watch the crowd. They’re all dressed in black amongst a large living room of about fifty people. The party is really getting starting and I have yet to get my full view of the Pierce family.

             
“Excuse me?” A beautiful brown-haired older woman smiles at me. “Can I ask you a favor?”

             
“Um…” I look around, wondering what to say.

             
“I’m Mrs. Pierce, the hostess of this party.” So, this is Vera Pierce, the wife of the man who killed Eddie Valentine.

             
“Oh, yes, Mrs. Pierce, anything.” 

             
“I’m looking for my daughter. She’s about 5’5, beautiful, wearing a nice long, blue sundress… and she’s a pain in my ass.” She laughs. I don’t laugh much, but I give her a light smile. “I’m sorry.”

             
“No, it’s fine. Teenage daughters can be a pain in the ass, from what I hear.”

             
“Yeah, but they can be wonderful too.” She smiles to herself. “I’m sorry. I’m in the moment. I’m just a proud parent.”

             
“It’s fine, ma’am.”

             
“But can you just go around back maybe and see if you see her and if you do, tell her she needs to come in so we can make a toast?”

             
“Yes, ma’am.” Wow, that’s ironic, Vera Pierce, asking me for help. It’s a possibility that she will be dead soon. Hopefully, she won’t. I don’t agree with killing women, but Mickey does what he wants. I can’t stop him. I can only help him. I take orders. My loyalty is to him because he looked out for me when no one else did.

             
I walk towards the back to look for the Pierce girl, passing paintings and pictures on the wall of the room that leads to the patio doors. One framed picture of three little kids smiling on a beach stands out. One of the boys is holding up bunny ears next to the girl between him and the other. I’m guessing these are the Pierce children. I wonder which one is Donovan. Their other son, Christian, died three years ago. Killed by crooked cops, that’s all we know. Crooked cops who wanted Leon to tell us that Roman Pierce killed Mickey’s brother. I hate thinking about Leon. He’s dead. Mickey told me to give him one lethal dose of heroin. I didn’t want to, but I had to. Oddly, Leon smiled when he died. When I passed him the needle to inject himself, he just smiled at me and said ‘it’s okay, kid.’ It was like he had forgiven me and knew he was going to die. He was just happy to get one last fix before he went. 

             
As I look at the pictures, I see legs appear through the long window frame. The sun shines right on them, showing their perfection. I continue walking towards the glass double-wide patio doors to get a clear view at the legs.

             
They belong to a girl with a blue dress hiked up to her thigh with one hand. Her other arm is stretched out horizontally as she crosswalks on the bench. Her long sandy brown hair falls over her back and the sun reveals blonde highlights. I finally see her face. She watches her feet as she walks, holding her balance.

             
She stops and turns towards the field, staring out at the burning sun. I move my eyes down her back. She’s wearing a backless sundress. Her back is nice. She’s… nice. This must be Ella Pierce.

             
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” I turn around to see him. Roman Pierce.               He’s standing in the doorway with a drink in his hand, wearing a white button up and grey pants.

             
“Sorry, sir,” I say to him. The guy did just catch me checking out his daughter and I plan on killing him later, so I might as well apologize.

             
“Don’t worry about it. I gave up on ignoring the fact that my daughter is beautiful like her mother, years ago.” He grins at me then walks toward the patio door and stands next to me. “My wife sent you to find her, didn’t she?”

             
“Yes sir.”

             
“Well, thank you. Tell her we’ll be out soon.”

             
“Sure.” I take one last glance at a shining Ella Pierce then head out of the back room.

             
So that was him, Roman Pierce. I’ve seen pictures of him, but never in person.

Ella

Well, I finally graduated high school, so I can finally get out of Eastbrook and start my life. Ella Pierce, the fashion designer. No longer Ella Pierce, the daughter of Roman Pierce, the gangster, or Ella Pierce, the little sister of Donovan who fell in love with a Stonem. A lot has changed in the past two years.

First, we lost
Christian, my older brother. I miss him everyday. Then Donovan fell in love with Claudia Stonem, and that changed everything. Their Romeo and Juliet epic love story led to the men responsible for my brother's death killed and in prison and brought Claudia to our family.

After her dad
went to prison, she came and lived with us and surprisingly, she fit right in. She especially became close with me and my dad, and the girl I used to hate and despise became one of my best friends. Weird, I know.

Now I'm just out here because I need a moment to reflect. I know it's a party going on for me right now, but
I just needed a moment to think about where I'm going from here. The Art institute in New York. I'm going to move in with Claudia since she is moving out of the dorms at NYU and getting an apartment. My brother and our friend, Emile, are getting an apartment too. I missed my brother. Donovan and I always used to get on each other nerves, but after Christian died, our relationship changed for the better.

"So, are you going to stare at the sun all day or are you going to cut your mother some slack
?" I'm startled by my dad, almost falling off the stone bench.

"
God, Dad, you scared me!" I say, placing my hand over my chest. "Tell mom to chill. She doesn't even like parties."

"She does when it has something to do with you
guys. She's proud of you. So am I."

I smile at my dad and jump down from the bench
, giving him one of our special father and daughter hugs. I smell the aftershave and Brandy on him. I love that smell.

I glance at him. "Thank you
, Daddy."

"Alright, let's get inside before your mom kills both of us." He wraps his arm around my shoulder and we head back into the party.

Locating my mother, I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around, glaring at me like I'm crazy.

"Where have you been?"
she chides.

"Outside
Mom. Don't trip."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry Mom." I give her my sad puppy dog eyes and poke my lip out.

"Don't even try it. We're
gonna do a toast then serve the food."

I drop my face and sigh. “Okay, give me a minute. I’m
gonna freshen up.”

Tommy

I feel my phone buzzing in my pants pocket and pull it out. There’s a text from a private number.

             
“
HTD.”

             
I know what that means. Hurt the daughter. Ronnie told me, they might need me to send a message, rough up the girl a little bit. I don’t normally hurt women, but this is really important for Mickey. I’ll just push her around, scare her a little bit. The good thing is that I can leave this town now.

Ella

              As I check myself in the hallway mirror to make sure I look good, I push my hair back and notice the kitchen door opening behind me. In the reflection of the mirror, a stunned set of hazel eyes stare at me. I turn around and see one of the waiters. He is gorgeous, with jet black hair and sculpted cheekbones. He looks like a warrior or something. I tilt my head to the side while he stands there, frozen and a little timid. His hands are behind his back, making me a little nervous until he makes them visible, pushing them into his pockets.