26. Trouble in Paradise
Darkness blurs my vision as I crack open an eye. Pain lances through my head. I blink and realize it’s not darkness clouding my sight, but blood. I can taste the bitter, metallic flavor on my tongue. My knee doesn’t seem to be working correctly, and I remember I’ve been shot.
“I think he’s coming around,” a disembodied voice says over me.
Shattering glass, figures flooding into the show floor, the gun going off and the immediate pain in my leg, the resulting brawl—one I lost in my own bedroom—as I tried to get to my gun, all of it rushes back to me. Including the beat down in the hallway before they dragged me out here. I take a shallow breath and realize my ribs are fucked.
A feminine giggling catches my attention. Carmella? My brain reforms after getting fucking scrambled. Fear and bitter disappointment band my chest. I wasn”t fast enough to get the gun and my girl... Where is my girl?
Another giggle. Much closer. My stomach knots.
”Did you forget about me? I didn”t forget about you,” an unknown feminine voice says, and something strokes my cheek. I focus in on her.
Black pigtails and a punk-rock-goth aesthetic on a lithe, pale body that stands on black platform boots bends over in front of me. Her face comes into focus through the blood.
”Wednesday.” I try to spit out the wad of blood in my mouth and realize my cheek is swollen inside. ”You know, it took me forever to get the stink of you off my dick,” I croak.
Wham. Pain splits me in half and I ball up. My breath escapes and doesn’t return as my diaphragm seizes and my ribs protest the beating. The big motherfucker beside me retracts his fist from my stomach. Four swastikas decorate the knuckles that have rearranged my innards.
My lungs whistle and wheeze as I suck in precious oxygen. Another fist cracks across my cheek and the force nearly snaps my neck. I”m going to have a serious case of whiplash. Lightning blossoms across my vision and blood pools in my mouth. Black dots threaten to consume my sight and carry me away.
“Shut your fucking mouth. Don’t talk about my girl like that,” the big motherfucker says.
My chin settles against my chest as the world swims. His girl?
“Sorry, dude, but your girl’s a skank whore,” I retort.
Wednesday is there in a flash and slaps me across the face. ”Fuck you,” she spits.
”And you wanted the sausage. We did this already. You scream at me. I don”t care. Blah, blah.”
Another slap. Compared to the punches of the big motherfucker beside her, her slaps are like butterfly kisses. I could do this all day. Black spots hover as pain blossoms in my head and nausea rolls around my stomach. Never mind. I might have a concussion. She should probably stop hitting me.
The big motherfucker pushes her behind him. His shaved head gleams in the lights cast from the back of the store. His gravelly voice drags across my nerves. “I’m sure this must be very confusing for you.”
“Yeah, let’s say for argument’s sake that I’m a little lost.” Panic spikes as adrenaline dumps into my bloodstream. ”Were you the navy SUV?” I ask.
”Yep, that would be us. I’m Jay.”
“And my men?”
He chuckles. “Dead. They didn’t even know what hit ‘em.”
Nausea rolls up my stomach as I glance out into the night through the front windows. Guilt over Rikki and Casper cuts through me. They were good men. Sasha is going to be furious.
Jay continues talking. “We met that night at the club, ya know. I almost had you out the car door, if it wasn”t for that fancy kick you got me with.” He glances back at the three men standing around us. “We thought about coming and fucking you up that night, but it wasn’t worth the effort, not after watching you pull a gun on that girl. Things change though,” he says, slapping me affectionately on the cheek before pinching my face between his hands. “Funny thing is, we still aren”t here for you.” He pushes my head, snapping it backward.
“If I remember correctly, I nearly had you with the front of my car.” A rough cough burns my throat.
Jay nods. “You’re a real funny fucking guy. Tell me another joke, funny guy.”
I open my mouth to say something about his mother, but he punches me in the face and I black out momentarily before I swim to the surface again. Blood dribbles down my lips from my nose.
One of the men tosses the big guy a phone, and he catches it lightly, clicking on the screen. Panic crawls around in my chest as I struggle against the straps holding me to my own fucking used furniture. The chair rattles but doesn”t give. Fuck, what a time for something I sell to actually hold up. Panting, I swallow. ”Listen, you are fucking with the wrong man. You’ve picked a fight you won’t win. Sasha will kill all of you for fucking with his business.”
“Who the fuck is Sasha?” Jay asks, looking at Wednesday, then at his men. I watch them shrug and confusion pours through me. My mind races as I realize they aren’t here for the cash in the shop. They may not even know about it if they don’t know Sasha.
A looming feeling of dread takes up residence in my body. “Why are you here?”
Jay thrusts the phone in my face, and a photo of a younger, smiling Carmella shows up on the screen. He looks down at her picture. “Cute, isn’t she? I bet she’s sweet as pie.” He leans forward to whisper in my ear, “Between us guys, I think it’s only fair if I get a taste. After all, you already helped yourself to mine.” My mind blanks at the horror of what he is saying.
“If you fucking touch her, I am going to kill you,” I snarl. He leans back and we make eye contact. Emptiness stares back at me as he grins. “I believe that you believe that.”
At a normal volume, he adds, “I was going to ask you where the girl is, but my guys are rounding her up as we speak. She’s a slippery one, got around my boys and ended up outside. If it wasn’t for your fancy camera system, we probably wouldn’t have found her at all.”
The phone lights up and buzzes in Jay’s hand with an incoming call. “I got to take this,” he says, standing.
Fear roots and twists me up inside. They wanted Carmella all along. But why?And why wait to take her?
“Fuck!” Jay yells, startling us all. He narrows his eyes on me as he listens to the other person on the phone and looks at his men. “Benny, get down to the twenty-four seven now. Dave went and shit the bed but we got the girl,” he orders. Jay speaks back into the phone. “Yeah, we are on our way.” He hangs up and rubs his forehead.
“Which stop?” Benny asks.
“The one down the fucking road, you idiot. Now go!” Benny hightails it out the back, leaving just four of us now.
“What did Dave do this time?” Wednesday asks in a bored voice.
“Dave’s dead and Bones killed the guy at the counter.” A ripple moves through the group. Oh, so dead bodies piling up wasn’t part of the plan. Wednesday gives a low whistle and shakes her head. “Poor Davey, how did they even end up down there?”
“Fuck if I know. Alright, let’s wrap this up and get the fuck out of here.” Jay pulls a gun from his back and moves toward me.
I shake my head, which is an immediate mistake. “You”re making a bad choice. I work for the mob.”
That brings Jay up short. “You’re making a lot of enemies here tonight, and over what? A girl?” I goad.
Jay crouches down in front of me, considering me like he somehow sees me in a new light. “If you work for the mob, then we both know that girl is worth a shiny nickel for anyone who can retrieve her. So let’s not play.”
He waves the gun in front of my face. “Is that why you’ve been keeping her to yourself? I nearly shit when I realized I knew exactly where my next paycheck was and you, of all people, had her. It made me downright giddy.” He straightens up. “But I think you had the right idea, holding out instead of handing her over. This half upfront, half when she is delivered, is horseshit, making us play the waiting game until we could confirm it was her. Getting the first payment took so long, it fucked up a lot of good opportunities to grab her earlier and now look.” He gestures around. “It’s a big fucking mess.”
My mind races ahead and gloms onto all the details he just volunteered. I decide to play along. “Yeah, I didn’t trust the guy to come through on the second payment, so I kept her around and asked for more. I’m surprised he paid out for anyone else to come and get her. How much did he give you? Probably not as much as he gave me.”
Jay pulls out a butterfly knife, spinning it open, and the blade gleams threateningly as it slices through the light. “How much did he give you?” he counters.
I play on his greed and throw out a number that’s sure to piss him off and increase my chances of living a little while longer. “Ten grand in cash.”
Wednesday makes an unfair sound and stops her food. “That’s fucking crap, Jay! It’s way more than we got!” The knife stops spinning. Rage leaks into his face. “That son of a bitch. I knew he was holding out on us. Change of plans,” he announces to the group. “We take the money and the girl.”
The knife plunges down into my thigh. The sound of Wednesday’s giggles mix with my screaming as Jay twists the knife in my wound. “You’re gonna give me that money. Right. Fucking. Now,” he grinds out between clenched teeth. Death might be preferable to torture, my mind offers unhelpfully.
“I’m not giving you fucking shit.” I hiss and spittle blows out between my teeth.
He twists the knife again, and I scream until my voice is raw. Wednesday is all but clapping and jumping up and down in excitement like a maniac. She coos, “Let me have a turn with the knife, baby.” This bitch is level-ten crazy.
I turn on her, snarling, ”Listen, you stupid cunt.” A fist rams into my stomach and I puke, forming a nice little puddle of red and yellow on the carpet Carmella works so hard to keep vacuumed. Probably a bad sign that there is blood in my vomit. Pain radiates throughout my whole body. Sasha was right. I fucked Wednesday. I like them crazy. I’ve brought down hell on both our heads for trying to keep Carmella, while all my mistakes roam about freely. She was better off running when she could. Hanging around with me is only going to get her raped or killed. I cough and spit the acidic taste from my mouth.
A shadow moves over me and Wednesday’s nails dig and tear into my face, pushing into my eyes. The scratches burn. I pull my face back as she digs into my eyelids. “Call me a fucking cunt...,” she seethes. She”s suddenly lifted off me. The one who tossed the big dude the phone has a hold of her, dragging her backwards and making calming noises. He tells her to chill out, that Jay has this under control.
The back door of the store opens and slams shut as Benny comes running in, panting. “We got problems. Bones is dead. I can hear sirens. I was there for a second before I split. The girl is gone. We need to get out of here.”
”I say when we go, and we aren’t going until we at least get the money,” the big guy snarls. He rounds on me. “This is about to get worse for you.” The knife flashes as it’s pulled out of my leg. Blood arches and splatters across the floor. A scream rips from my throat. “Tell me where the cash is!” Jay roars.
“Just cut off his dick and let’s go look for the money ourselves, Jay,” Wednesday whines.
He points the knife at her. “Shut the fuck up.” Jay looks to the other men. “Start searching. See what you can find.”
A sudden flood of lights from the front parking lot illuminates the dark storefront, and the shrill cry of a car horn makes everybody jump and flee toward the shadows.
”Who the fuck is that?” Jay bellows as the horn continues to blare into the night. ”Greene! Rags! Go check it out. Hurry.”
The two men slip toward the front quickly.
“They”re coming!” I yell, hoping Carmella or whoever just came to my aid hears me. A backhand blows across my face. The world tilts as my vision warps and readjusts. Another wave of nausea rolls upon me, making me feel shaky and clammy. A band of tape is pressed over my mouth. Great, now when I puke, I”ll just suffocate and die.
The blaring horn cuts off, leaving a terrifying, crushing silence. I can barely lift my head as I stare toward the front and think the worst.
One of the men appears from the dark, holding a piece of wood, followed by the other. ”No one was there, just a board wedged between the dead dude’s chest and the horn. Benny’s right. I can hear sirens. We’re out of time.”
A car alarm goes off at the back of the store. The anti-theft device I put on my baby wails into the night. ”Fuck this, cops are going to be here any minute,” one of the men says. A couple of the guys mutter their agreements. I can hear the glass crunch under their feet as they move around nervously.
“Bunch of fucking pussies,” Jay snaps.
I watch the crimson stain grow on the carpet under me and blood flow freely from my thigh. I hope he didn’t nick something vital. My hair is wretched to the side. “Talk,” Jay says.
If this is to be the end, then it will end on my terms.“Suck my fat fucking plaster blaster and choke on it, just like your girlfriend did, you Nazi piece of shit.”
There is a moment of deep satisfaction as I watch Jay’s nostrils flare wide and the look of murder cross his face, but it’s cut short by the white-hot pain blossoming across my chest as Jay’s blade slices me open like a Christmas ham. Darkness crowds my vision as I watch my shirt and skin peel apart, revealing muscles and tendons. Blood pours down onto the floor as my vision shutters. The world tilts and the last thing I’m conscious of is Jay’s voice. “Grab him and let’s get the fuck out of here.”
To Be Continued.