Chapter 27
Aris
He’s sitting in the chair, his back towards me, ankles tied to the legs. In the same chair that I fucked my wife in just a few days ago. The plastic sheets are slippery, but not with oil…with blood. There’s a gash on the back of his head that is actively bleeding. I step over the threshold and shut the door behind me.
I clear my throat. “I never thought after all we’ve been through that it’d be you in here.”
He looks at me. His eyes are bloodshot. There’s another gash on his forehead above his right brow and his lip is so swollen and busted it looks like a mashed cocktail sausage.
“I shouldn’t be in here,” he grumbles. A gurgle escapes his throat, as if blood was pooling in there that he needed to clear. “That’s why you don’t feel right about it.”
I pull up a chair directly in front of him and survey his bonds. His hands are in cuffs behind his back and chest also strapped to the chair. His white tank top is no longer white, but a mildewy pink color with splotches of brown. My stomach turns at the thought of the torture he’s endured at the hands of people he once called friends.
“Explain to me how that is true, Reggie,” I say and fold my arms across my chest. I sit tall and await his response.
Another gurgle and then, “I’ve infiltrated The Org. I’ve been going deep into that hole for the last year, since they tried to kill you. Pretended to be a henchman for the high table.”
I pause and blink. Trying to gather my thoughts and make sense of what he’s saying. “You’re trying to tell me you’re a fucking double agent, Reg?”
He nods. The fluorescent light reflects off his dark pupils. I’ve never seen him this wounded. This downtrodden. This hopeless. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, Lazaris.”
“Why wouldn’t you have let us in on your little side operation, then? How can I trust you’re on our side and not theirs?”
The light bulb buzzes above us matching the buzzing in my chest. Anger. No. Frustration. And sorrow. Mourning a friendship I once had. Mourning the trust I’ve lost.
“How can you even ask me that?” He asks and affixes his widening eyes on me. “Recall I’m the one who pulled you from the god damn bay and performed CPR on you. I’m the one who brought you back to life when you were basically dead. Why would I have saved you if I was one of them? I would’ve let you drown that day. They wanted you dead, Aris.” Tears form in the corners of his eyes. He seems so genuine. “They wanted your lungs filled with shit water, see your bloated body sunk to the bottom of the bay. I fucking saved you. If you’re Lazaris and you’re back from the dead, then I’m fucking Jesus. I’m your savior, Aris. I brought you back from the Underworld.”
“I know. I know, Reggie. It doesn’t make sense to me, Brother.” I inhale sharply and lean back in the seat. I want to believe him. I really do. “Here’s the fucking problem. You ratted us out to your men over there and we lost our shipment. And it wasn’t just any shipment…it was the biggest one to date. We needed those fucking weapons, Reggie. You knew that.”
“I had to give them the intel. They needed some kind of insurance that I was on their side too. Declan was onto me. He and his goons were sniffing around my house, the office, around my boyfriend. I had to gain their trust. And this seemed the most efficient and least risky move.”
“But you gave away our FUCKING GUNS, Reggie!” I stand and slam my fist into the wall behind me. My face is red hot and now my fist is on fire. “I don’t know when we’re going to get another deal like that. Even if you are on our side, which was a stupid fucking decision, and you know it.”
Reggie’s nostrils flare and he rocks against the seat of the chair, as if this small movement might free him. “I’m telling you; I’m fucking innocent. I’m a mole. And I’m on your team. I’m ready to take these mother fuckers down once and for all, but I can’t do it strapped to this chair.”
I growl and punch the wall again, this time hitting it so hard my knuckle cracks and a piece of concrete block falls to the floor behind the plastic sheet. “You know I can’t let you go. You know too much. And I can’t risk you returning to them and spilling the rest of the plan.”
“I won’t. I swear it.”
I turn to leave, but the look in his eyes stops me in my tracks. Is it honesty? Or simply desperation that I’m seeing? How could he do this to me after all we’ve been through? As friends…as brothers. As part of The Rebellis.
I clear my throat and wipe my bleeding knuckle on my shirt. “How do I know what you’re saying is true? How can I trust you after this?”
“Let me prove it to you.”
“Sure. But how? I won’t cut those ties until I have some sort of guarantee.”
“Easy. I’ll give you the CEO’s address.”
“That’s not a guarantee. We all fucking know where The Org’s stronghold is.”
“No,” he says and sighs. “The CEO’s home address.”
“You know who he is?”
Reggie nods and wipes his forehead on his shoulder. “Yes, I know who she is.”
“I’m…I’m sorry. Did you say she?” I ask.
“Yeah. Not sure why everyone around here thinks only men can be evil. We’re all equal, right? If we can be equally as good, we can all be equally as bad. Evil doesn’t discriminate. Once it takes hold of a person, it plants more seeds, festers and grows. The soil makes no difference.”
I swallow and lean against the wall, allowing the information to sink in. “What’s her name? Who is it?”
“That will have to wait.”
I push against the wall and head for the door again. I’m tired of his shit. “Goodbye, Reggie. Have a nice evening.”
Silence. I open the door and Reggie shrieks, “wait!”
I keep my hands on the cold metal latch but turn to give him one more chance.
“You know her, personally,” he screeches.
“I’m waiting. You have three seconds.”
“It’s Judy…Beckner,” he replies.
“My mother-in-law?”
Tacy
The Uber ride felt like the longest ride of my entire life. When it rolls to a stop in front of the warehouse, I gulp, thank the driver for putting up with my body odor since I hadn’t showered, then crawl out and sidle up to the front door. Do I knock? Should I try the back door instead? Surely, they’ll see it’s me through their surveillance and let me in? I pray I don’t get shot.
There is a camera in the corner of the building pointed right at me, and I reach a shaky fist out to knock. An obnoxious beeping noise emanates from behind the door, and a man’s gruff voice shouts something inaudible. There’s a scraping metallic noise, as if someone’s unlocking a dozen locks on the door, and finally the door opens and a pair of gray eyes peek through the crack. Gray eyes bordered by a bushy pair of gray eyebrows. An older gentleman.
“Who are you? We’re closed.” His voice cracks as he says closed .
“I’m here for Aris.”
“There’s no one here by that name. It’s just me and the shop is closed,” he repeats and steps slightly into the light. There’s a large scar across his nose and down one cheek. Like someone slashed him with a knife when he was a young man.
“Listen,” I lean in and lower my voice. “I’m on the inside. I’m with The Rebellis. I’m Aris’s wife and I need to speak to him.”
His eyes widen. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now, do you need a ride, Miss? I can call you a cab.”
I shake my head. My patience is thinning. The pain in my ribs is searing and almost renders me incapable of speaking. But the throbbing of my eye socket is almost more than I can bear. I’m seeing stars, but I must press on. “I don’t have a lot of time. Please, just get him. Get Aris.”
Another shake of the head, but then the man shuts the door abruptly and a familiar hand pulls the door open. He hurries me inside. The scent of gasoline and sweat permeates the air of the warehouse.
“What are you doing here, Babydoll? Jesus, are you okay?” Aris asks as he pulls me into his arms.
I wince when his chest presses against mine. “Ow.”
He pulls back and scans me from head to toe. “Why are you here?”
The doorkeeper is already down the hallway, leaving the two of us alone.
“It’s…the kids, Aris,” I say and double over in pain. “They’re…in…danger.”
“What? How? Who?”
I shrink to the floor and put my head in my hands to try to stop the dizziness.
“Tacy, where are the children?”
“They’re with my…mom,” I say shakily. I try to lift my head and look at him, but it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I just need to…rest. My eyes close, but Aris shakes me gently to snap me out of it.
“Tacy! Please just tell me what’s happening. The kids are with your mom. What’s the danger?”
“There’s a man…with them,” I say and try to muster all of the strength I have left in me. For the kids. For Aris. For our family. “He wants Declan.”
I lay flat on the cold ground, my body now supine on the hard floor of the warehouse. I hear voices and footsteps all around. They’re talking to Aris, asking questions. Aris lifts me from the floor.
My entire body is pounding. I’m nauseous and sweaty and just want to close my eyes. My soul is threatening to leave my body and escape the radiating, all-encompassing pain. Slipping…my eyes close…
Aris lays me on something cushiony and clean. I feel pillows and blankets around me. And Aris. I hear his voice. He never leaves me.
“Tacy, Babydoll. Can you hear me? I need to know who the man is.”
I open my eyes. “I don’t…know.”
“Did you meet him?”
“No. He was on the phone…at mom’s. Threatened them. The kids.”
“Yes, I got all of that, Honey,” he says and sits beside me. “I know this is hard, but I need you with me for a few more minutes. Then I promise you can rest.”
Tears stream from my eyes. I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake. How much more I can give of myself. But I have to pull through for the kids. Fuck everyone else. Just. Save. The. Kids.
“Dock five-A. Midnight,” I squeak and cough. “Give him back to them.”
“Okay, Baby. You did good,” Aris says and smooths the hair out of my face. He offers me water and covers me with a blanket, because now I can’t stop shivering. “Just rest now.”
I close my eyes and pray for the pain to go away. And for my kids to be saved.