Mobster's Angel (Mobster Series) (22 page)

Four. Vito hurtles the fence.

“Stop taking the covers,” Vito chastises me playfully and yanks the blanket off me.

“Don’t
. I’m cold.” The hotel room is freezing. 

“You need to learn to share,” he says
, making fun.

“You need to learn not to be a bully,”
I say, snatching the comforter back and rolling up in it like a sausage.  “Now you get nothing. Go to sleep.”

Vito pulls a corner hard and fast so I spin like a top and land back on the bed
, coverless.  My hair is standing up straight with static, and I’m dizzy.  I laugh even though I don’t want to.  I try to take a stand against the blanket bullying, but I’m having too much fun.  I change tactics and pretend to cry.  Vito doesn’t know what to do.

“Stop.  You know I’m kidding.  Here. Take it.”

“No,” I sniffle.  “I’m fine.”

Vito grunts and
slides over to me.  He wraps me in the blanket and tucks me in tightly.  I smile at him. He has a hint of a smile, too.

*****

The bed is moving.

“Come on!  It’s Black Friday!  It’s time to shop, shop, shop!”  Clarissa sing-songs as she jumps up and down on my mattress.

“Ugh!  What time is it?” I mumble.

“Forty-thirty!”  She leaps off the bed.  “Time for a shower! Joey will be here at five.”  I glance at the window; it’s still dark out.  I rub my hands over my face and try to wake myself up.  Through squinted eyes, I make my way to the bathroom to shower.  My movements are sluggish, my limbs heavy. The spray of the shower brings some cognition and life into me.  When I’m done, I dry off change into shopping clothes.  I layer a t-shirt with a light jacket of Clarissa’s and toss on a pair of jeans that I apparently left here.  I guess it’s fortuitous, considering that I showed up here with no luggage.

Exactly at five on the dot, there is a knock on the door.  Clarissa lets Joey in.

“Ready to knock people over for a low priced blender and four hundred thread count sheets?” Joey asks.

“Ready!” Clarissa gushes.  She’s pumped for shopping.  I grab my purse and follow them out into the hallway with a yawn on my lips.

***
**

After store number four, I really get in to it.  I buy a great outfit for Megan.  She’s going to love it.  I find some snuggly soft flannel shirts for my dad.  I buy a cute pair of boots for myself.  Retail therapy works wonders. We quickly load our arms with bags.

“Should we put some of this stuff in the car?” Clarissa suggests.  “It’s getting heavy.”

“I’ll go get it and meet you at the door.”  Joey leaves and Clarissa and I take our time making our way to the entrance.

“Feel how soft this scarf is!”  Clarissa puts one of her bags down to check out a purple angora scarf. She pulls me over to her.

“It’s beautiful,” I note, rubbing it with my fingertips.  “But we should head to the door. Joey will be there soon. We can come back after we drop our bags off.”

“Oh, fine,” Clarissa responds, rolling her eyes.

We head for the automatic doors.  I step through and suddenly feel a sharp pain on the back of my head. Everything goes black.

My self-loathing is tearing me apart. I’m fuckin’ sick over Erin.  It took all of my control to not hop a plane to California for Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving was a bust anyway.  I called my mother and said that I wasn’t coming.  I’ll be lucky if she takes my calls by Christmas.  I moped around by myself and watched movies.  I watched fuckin’ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory three times.  I can repeat the damn thing nearly word for word.

The day after, I head to Baby’s. I’m still pissed about what happened, but I go back anyway. I’m looking for trouble and fuckin’ with Baby’s business will make me feel something other than this shit.  My goal is to make Black Friday as black and dismal as it sounds.

Dolly lets me in.  He’s happy to see me.  Downstairs, it’s more crowded than I’ve ever seen it.  The place is cramped with male bodies, smoke, and stale beer.  Ty is standing by the bar.  I walk over.

“Hey,” Ty greets me.

Ziggy signals to me to see if I want a beer.  I shake my head with a snarky no.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Ty asks.  A smile plays on his lips.

“Are you trying to fuck with me?” I ask.

“No,” he says, laughing.

“She’s not my girlfriend, and she’s in California.” I grind out between my teeth. My pride makes my anger spike.

“I knew you’d fuck it up,” Ty says, shaking his head.

“What?!”

“You’re volatile, unapproachable, and an asshole ninety percent of the time.”

“Fuck you!”  I say. Ty smirks, takes a swig of his beer, and holds his hand out in an,
I told you so
gesture
.
“See.  That girl and her sweet ass need to be handled properly,” he lectures.

“You don’t even…” I start to say when I notice a fuckin’ weirder than usual guy at the other end of the bar.  Purple bags under his eyes.  I study him and he studies me back. Something isn’t right. I approach him slowly, but he takes off, running as soon as I get close.  He dodges through people and flies up the stairs to the exit.  I chase after him.

Racing up the cement steps, I twist and turn with the stairs.  I run straight at Dolly, who is stunned by runner number one and runner number two, me, ramming the door and sprinting out into the cold night air.  I think this skinny son of a bitch thought he could actually out run me.  I’m big, but I’m fast.

I grab his collar and yank him to the ground.  We’re both breathing hard.  The streetlights accent his grotesque eye bags, making him look like some kind of paranormal freak of nature.  He looks at me as he lies on the ground in front of me. He grins wickedly.

“You finally fucked up.  She’s done for,” he hisses.

“What the fuck are you talking about!?” I shout.

“No one messes with the Talbot’s.  Not even mafia trash like you.”

“Who the fuck are the Talbots?” 
What the hell is this lunatic talking about?

“She didn’t tell you?  She pissed off the wrong guy,” he spits vulgarly.  “No one is going to give a shit about some mafia whore found on the California coastline with no pulse.”

It immediately registers that he’s talking about Erin.  Sizzling rage travels through my bloodstream.  I grab this fucker and toss him into some recycle bins on the sidewalk.  The clang and crash of empty cans clinks over the cement.  I storm over to him and kick him hard in the stomach.

“Talk.”

“You’re just some dumb mob muscle!” He laughs manically like he’s from some low rated horror movie as he clutches his stomach. 
What is going on?!

Dolly approaches me.  “Vito! Hey, you need some help?”

“No!” I say. “Call Tonio. Something very bad is going down.” 

This loser goes to sit up, but I kick him again to keep him down.  Fear for Erin is fueling me.

“Tell me what you mean, fucker!”

“Running away from you was our chance,” he laughs again, but this one holds a certain degree of nervousness.  I lift him roughly and bang him against the closest brick wall.

“Who are you?!”

“I’m nobody.”

I grab his hand and twist his fingers back. One slight movement from me will snap them.

“Is someone after Erin?  Who are the Talbots?”

“Dumb as a stump.” He antagonizes me.

Snap.

The guy howls in agony.  His index finger of his left hand hangs awkwardly.  I grab his pinky. 

“Who is after Erin?”  I don’t even let him answer before snap it.

“Owwww!” he screams.

“Who is after Erin?”  I go to grab his middle finger.  The guy is limp and whining in pain.  I move it a centimeter and he cries out, “Brice!” He cries out again.  “Brice Talbot.” 

I do my best to keep my composure because I need this guy for information.  My instincts tell me to reach inside his chest and tear his heart out. If only I could.

“Tonio’s two minutes away,” Dolly tells me.

“You’re running out of time,” I comment brutally.

“No. You are,” he says cryptically.

“What?  Who is Brice?”

“Senator Talbot’s son,” he offers without coercion.

“Why does he want Erin?”

“That’s just it.  She doesn’t want him.”

“What the fuck? Stop talking in riddles,” I yell and smash him against the brick again.   I hear his skull make contact.  He loses consciousness for a second.

“Hey! 
Hey! Asshole!  Talk to me!”

He rouses.

“What does he plan to do to Erin?”

The guy’s eyes open and shut.  He’s trying to stay alert, but he’s failing.

“Exactly what the mafia does,” comes out his mouth, slurred as all hell.

“Shit!”

Tonio’s Camaro comes screaming around the corner.  He jumps out and runs over to me.

“Where the fuck is she?” Tonio yells with enough fury to spit fire.

“Shit, he’s already out of it,” I tell him.

“She’s gone!” Tonio shouts at me.

“What?”

“She went to Cali and Joey called and said she’s been taken!”

“Fuck!”

Megan gets out of the car. She’s a mess - she’s been crying.

“Zip-tie this fucker and have Baby hold him,” Antonio orders.

Dolly leaves and comes back quickly.  I help him secure the guy’s arms and legs. I’m trying to keep my head on straight.  I don’t think, I just do. Tonio rips out his cell phone. I can tell he’s talking to Donny.

“I need you to get info out of some asshole at Baby’s!”

Tonio listens to the person on the other end. 

“Got it.  Call me when you get anything.”  He turns to Megan and me.  “Get in the car. We’re going to California!”

Panic trails under my skin like a million little red ants scurrying and biting.  I can’t see anything.  My eyes are open, but my head is covered. I can only hear people talking, but even the voices are far away and muffled.  I remember coming out of the mall with Clarissa.  Joey went to get the car. We had a ton of packages.  Something hit the back of my head and then… Well, I have no idea.

I assess myself.  I’m in a chair with my arms are secured behind me. They’re sore. My skin is wrinkled up where they are bound together.  I can’t move my feet.  They’re tied too - I think to the legs of the chair. I tip my head minutely in an attempt to hear what the voices are saying and a searing pain shoots through my skull.  Little bits of confetti stars dance in front of my eyes in the blackness.  The pain is intense. I let out an involuntary moan.

“She’s awake.”

I turn my head to the voice.  I definitely don’t know it.  My heart thumps wildly with fear and I desperately try to beat back despair. 

“Good.”  That voice I do know.
Brice!
“You’ve been out for hours, I was getting impatient.”

The cloth is ripped off my head and I blink in the light, my eyes try to adjust to my surroundings.  Brice’s torso is right there in front of me.  He leans down into my face and kisses me roughly on the mouth.  I automatically cringe.  I pull my head away from him and a jab of pain runs through it.

“I’ve been wanting one of those.” His face is level with mine now, and he talks to me with barely an inch between us.  His breath reeks. “There’s something you should know Erin.  I always get what I want.”

“Did your snobby family inbreed or are you just an asshole?” I goad him.

“I love your quick wit,” he says, staying as close as he can.  “But I don’t love your boyfriend.” He waves his finger at me like I’ve been naughty.  “No one gets you Erin.  You either take me or nothing.”

“I was wrong about you Brice.  You’re not a sleazy rich kid… you’re a fuckin’ psycho.”  Tiny hammers are pounding on my skull every time words leave my mouth.

A year ago I would have submitted to Brice or gone catatonic.  Instead, I do something really stupid.  I tip my head back and butt him right in the forehead.  Sheer agony pulses through my entire skull.  He stumbles backwards, regains his footing, and slaps me across the face.  He’s fuming.

“You hit like a girl,” I mock, but it comes out softly.  Tears sting the inside of my eyes.

He puts his lips to my ear and whispers, “Yeah, but I don’t
fuck
like one.”  He kisses me roughly again and bites my lip, hard.  I yelp. 

Holy crap, he is a nut-job!
Bantering with Brice isn’t going to get me out of here.  His words are alluding to friggin’ rape.  My fear has ramped up and I’m realizing that just talking like I’m tough isn’t going to save me.  I pray Joey is looking for me and that he’s called in the
mafia-troops
.  I don’t know if they exist, but I really hope they do. 
Mafia SWAT Team, Search and Rescue!