He had grown limp from holding the weight of his body under his arms stretched above his head. The chains cut into his wrist causing blood to run down his arms. His toes dangled above the floor just enough to brace himself with the tips of his boots. I took my time unbuttoning my jacket and hung it from the edge of the workbench, then removed my cufflinks and rolled my sleeves above my elbows. Tommy held his eyes steady on me as I approached him. I pulled back and landed a strong punch to his gut. He let out a deafening scream when he lost his footing and his arms snapped under the weight of his swaying body.
“Who was it?” I yelled.
His breathing had become labored and his face was pale white. He opened his mouth to answer but speaking was too much of a strain. He managed a small shake of his head to tell me he didn’t know. I walked over to the workbench and motioned to Lorenzo to lower him. He understood he would have to pay and the price would be his life, that was clear by his lack of pleas when I pressed the drill against his forehead and squeezed the trigger. I switched the drill to reverse and blood splattered on the front of my shirt when it exited his head.
“Check the security tapes and get rid of the body.” I retrieved my jacket and cufflinks and walked out toward my car. By the looks of the office I already knew they had taken the tapes. I opened the trunk, removed the bloody shirt and put on a fresh one, smoothing the wrinkles with my hand before lighting a cigarette. I inhaled the first drag and let out a deep breath trying to calm myself. I tossed Franco my keys as he and Lorenzo emerged from the front of the car keeping my eyes on the darkness surrounding us.
By the time we returned to the estate my head was throbbing. I needed to dispose of Emilio’s body and catch a flight to Miami. This news was something I had to tell Carmine in person.
We pulled through the gates and the driveway was illuminated from the lights shining out of the glass panels of the entryway and Emilio’s car was gone. The nagging sensation in my stomach had returned when I opened the front door and found Ava sitting on the stairs. Her hands holding her head.
“Ava, what happened?”
Tears streamed from her puffy red eyes. “I’m sorry Angelo. I don’t know how but she’s gone.”
“Dammit! Franco call the pilot and arrange for a Cleaner to dispose of the body. I want wheels up in twenty. You and I need to see Carmine. Lorenzo find Bella and take Ava with you. Don’t come back here without her.”
“You want me to go help find her?” Ava asked confused by my orders.
“You lost her, you find her.”
Chapter 24
Brie
I could hardly keep my eyes open by the time I exited the highway and pulled into a truck stop. I spotted a line of big rigs and pulled Emilio’s car nearby. Hitchhiking unnerved me but so did trying to outrun Angelo. There was no way he was letting me go, I needed to be smart if I would have a chance of eluding him. I found a pair of square framed sunglasses in the glove box and tucked them into the neckline of my blouse, clutched my bag and raced inside.
While watching the drivers fill their coffee mugs and stock up on snacks, I cased the store for anything that might be helpful in my escape. I settled on an ordinary baseball hat, and a disposable cell phone. While sipping on a cup of coffee, I studied the drivers while they inspected their rigs. One caught my attention, he was an older man with white hair and a plump stomach. I wrapped my hair up under the baseball hat and approached his rig. When I got near, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A playful golden retriever came running and pounced on me, spilling the coffee. I reached out and scratched between the dog’s ears. For the first time in months a smile tugged at the edges of my lips when he wagged his tail.
“Someone likes you. Are you looking for a ride sweetheart?”
“Only as far as your willing to take me,” I responded.
“Come Cooper.” The dog jumped on board. “You too, if you’re coming.”
I stepped onto the running board and gripped the sidebar to hoist myself up, dropping Emilio’s keys when I yanked the massive door closed behind me. With a little luck someone would notice them and treat themselves to a joy ride. If Angelo was tracking me with the GPS system, it could throw him off my trail.
The dog circled the space in the rear of the cab and howled when the engine cranked. I held my backpack on my lap with one arm and stretched back to pet the dog with the other. Cooper settled down between the seats letting me rub his ears as the redundant grumble climbed with each shift and the whine of the engine smoothed out.
My mind wandered off recounting the number of deaths on my hands and tears stung my eyes. A quick burst of air from the brakes broke me from my pity party. I glanced out the window and spotted a sign for the Philadelphia Transportation Authority.
“Thanks for the ride. I can get a train from here.” My heart couldn’t take anymore loss and the last thing this man needed was to get tangled up in my mess. I heaved the door wide and climbed down before he could respond. I hid my swelling eyes behind the sunglasses and walked to the station.
Once inside, I headed to the ticket counter and studied the departure board while I stood in line. I purchased two tickets with cash, one for the southbound train departing in two hours and another for the bus scheduled to leave in less than an hour. The woman behind the counter stared me down before shaking her head and mumbling, “All right, it’s your money.”
She passed both tickets under the glass partition and I blended in with the other travelers mulling around on the platform between the train tracks and bus line. I kept my head down, constantly shifting positions to avoid the security cameras. I purchased a sandwich and a drink from one of the station vendors and moved into another storefront. I was flipping through the magazine stand when the now boarding announcement blared through the speakers. There were four busses loading and one was mine. As the platform cleared, I caught sight of Lorenzo searching the crowd next to the trains. My heart beat wildly against my chest and the room whirled around me.
Snatching a free map from the rack next to the counter, I exited the shop toward the bus line. With the map open in front of me I moved toward the bus, falling in line with the other passengers. I drew the ticket out of my pocket and presented it to the driver before I climbed on board. I continued down the aisle until I found an unoccupied seat near the back with no one seated close by. Teetering on the edge of my seat, I peered out the window, from behind the oversized sunglasses, for signs of Lorenzo. Startled by the door hissing shut I bolted out of my seat and fell against the window as the bus pulled away from the station. Lorenzo’s eyes burrowed into me as the old brick building faded from my sight. I exhaled and sat down, leaning my head against the back of the seat.
An older woman shifted in the seat across the aisle clutching her carry-on bag. A young man sat one row behind her with his legs spread around a worn guitar case. A few other passengers sat closer to the front. I rested my head against the cool window and took shallow breaths matching the low hum of the engine. I watched the buildings blur as the bus lumbered down the highway. With my nerves soothed by the vibrations of the wheels turning underneath me, I drifted off to sleep, remembering Cal and his prize Gibson Les Paul.
I reached out in the dark needing the warmth of his body on top of me but his side of the bed was empty. Everything about him stirred me to the core, I couldn’t stand even one minute without him so why was it I woke up alone. His wrinkled t-shirt rubbed against my nipples as I crawled out of his bed, the smell of his cologne still embedded in the fibers teased my nose, causing my aching pussy to wet with desire. I followed the sound of the smooth, metallic twang filling my ears, down a long narrow hallway. When I reached the end, I leaned against the corner and watched him play his guitar. He sat legs spread wide with the guitar resting on one thigh and the neck against his bare chest. His fingers strummed the chords and his hand slid higher up the frets. Then he’d stop playing and lean over to jot something down on paper and then return to playing, humming a
melody from behind his delicious lips. Watching him play, was a guilty pleasure of mine. The way his fingers twisted in all sorts of odd shapes to create just the right sound. His hands were magic not just how he strummed the guitar but how he teased my clit, sliding them deep inside of me, hooking them just right, like he played the guitar strings, to bring me to an orgasm within minutes. I crossed the room to stand in front of him and kneaded his thick arm muscles with my hands. “What are you working on?”
He looked up at me with his wide blue eyes and leaned the guitar against the wall. “Something for you,” he said, spreading my legs with his hands.
His magic fingers went deep into my bare wet pussy and I shuttered, clamping down around them on contact. He withdrew from my wetness and licked his fingers, tasting me on them and pulled me down on his naked hard cock, humming the tune against my neck as I rode him slow and steady.
The sudden jolt of the bus stopping and the hissing of the door startled me awake. I glanced around unsure how long I had been asleep. I knew Lorenzo would catch up soon if I stayed on the bus so I grabbed my bags and crossed the platform toward the train tracks. I had studied the maps; it was the last stop before the train route veered away from the highway.
When the train pulled into the station, I showed my ticket to the attendant and boarded. Keeping my bag close I settled into an empty seat, surrounded by twice as many commuters than on the bus. I watched the scenery change from the city landscape to country as the train whisked me away from danger at a high speed. I dared to dream of starting over. I would change my name and find a safe place to live. I doubted the possibility of finding someone to settle down with and raise a family. No one could compare to the love I shared with Cal, and with Angelo out there, I could never stop running. That was no life for a family. Several hours later the conductor announced my stop, Raleigh, NC.
I made my way off the train and through the station to the street where I noticed an old worn ad for Jerry’s Used Cars ½ block to the left next to the 24-hour dinner. I followed the directions to the small overcrowded lot that resembled a junkyard more than a dealership. I strolled around the rows of cars until I found a blue Hyundai Accent with 149,000 miles and the price scribbled on the windshield slashed from $5,000 to $2,500. A salesman in a gray pinstripe suit, approached me. It relieved me when he didn’t ask questions when I pulled out cash and requested speedy service. We went inside a small trailer that served as the office and completed the minimum required paperwork. When that was complete he handed me the new title registered to Bella Deluca, since it was the only ID I had, and the keys. He pulled a cloth from his back pocket and wiped the marker from the glass. I drove off the lot with my hands shaking against the steering wheel. I drove a few blocks before allowing myself to stop and study the map searching for Ashe, NC. It was scribbled on the paper I took off Emilio, so it must be important, but it wasn’t on the map. While adjusting the seat and shifting the mirrors, I saw a small strand of my hair had fallen out from under my hat. It was streaked with dried blood. I needed a shower. I continued on the main road running through town until I found a motel.
The man behind the desk wiped his greasy hands across the stained shirt that barely covered his beer gut and took his nightly rate in cash. I kept my head down and said nothing waiting for him to finish eye fucking me and drop the room key into my hand. It was a seedy hotel, one of those places hookers brought their John’s and paid by the hour.
I walked down the dingy walkway, over the weeds that grew through the cracks in the concrete and up the corner stairwell littered with cigarette butts and cheap take out wrappers to the second floor. I followed the row of doors down the dark path until I found my room number.
Once inside, I cast my tired eyes around the dark room. The smell of stale cigarettes invaded my nose. A large bed sat in the middle of the floor pushed up against the stained thin walls. A small rickety table and a wooden chair sat in front of the window. I bolted the door locked, tossed my backpack onto the lumpy bed and pulled the curtain closed. I crossed the room to a second door in the back and stepped into a bathroom where water markings stained the drop tile ceiling. I wasn’t looking for frills, I just needed a hot shower and a few hours of sleep.
I undressed and stepped into the shower, letting the tepid water soak my hair enough to wash the dried blood out before turning cold. I twisted the knobs until only a small trickle dripped out and ran down the drain. I wrapped myself in a starchy towel, dried the water from my body and changed into my bra and panties. I grabbed the rest of my clothes and strode back to the small collection of my things shoved into the backpack on the bed. The diamond on my hand sparkled in the pale parking lot light shining through the window. I removed the wedding ring and sat it on the side table. My new life would not start with a reminder of this nightmare on my finger. I pulled out the gun and tucked it under the pillow and laid back against the rough sheets sliding the photograph and bloody scrap paper from the envelope. I fell asleep straining to bring the grainy image of a man dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt to life. His eyes stared into my soul. I desperately wanted it to be Cal, but it made little sense, all I knew is there was a connection. I needed to figure out why.
Highway noise and vivid nightmares of Cal’s murder frequently punctuated my sleep. I tossed and turned until Angelo’s voice cut through my dreams, “He’s not coming for you. I killed him,” jolted me from the restless sleep.
My body trembled with fear and drenched in a cold sweat. I reached for the lamp and scanned the room in a panic. I drifted in and out for a short time, the clock on the side table read 8:00PM. I wrapped the gun in my blouse and collected the items sprawled around me on the crinkled sheets and tucked them back into my backpack. I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a fitted t-shirt, the only change of clothes I brought with me. After I gathered my things and tucked the room key into my backpack, I headed across the street to the mini-mart. I purchased a drink and a day old sandwich from the cooler before returning to my room.
As I crossed the motel parking lot, I passed an unfamiliar car with New York plates. I crept up the stairwell to the second floor breezeway toward my room, careful to step just right so the heels of my boots wouldn’t make a noise against the concrete. The hairs on my arms stood on end, I couldn’t be sure if I was paranoid or if Lorenzo found me. I paused two doors down. The unwrapped bar of soap I wedged under the door had come ajar, and someone smudged a familiar shade of crimson red lipstick across the door. I wasn’t paranoid, Lorenzo found me, again.
I lowered my head and picked up speed as I sprinted past the partially opened curtain in my window. I ran down the stairwell on the other side of the breezeway and across the parking lot toward the car. I twisted around only once to see Lorenzo running toward the parking lot and Ava following behind. I reached my new car and started the engine, throwing it in reverse before the door even closed. I circled the streets until I was certain I wasn’t being followed before merging onto the west bound highway. The road ahead of me was clear, so I stepped on the gas following the broken white line as it jumped from the darkness and disappeared under the car, watching as the headlights disappeared from the rearview mirror.
Chapter 25
Brie
I drove for what felt like hours along the rural one-lane Highway 40, making a left onto a small winding road at an abandoned church and a right at the single red flashing light at the end of the road, trying to remember the directions the gas station attendant gave me toward Ashe, NC.
Heavy dark clouds hung overhead, smothering out the faint light of the moon. I squinted to see out the front windshield but nothing but blackness surrounded me. It reminded me of a scene straight from a horror flick where the monster lurks in the eerie shadows just beyond the beam of the headlights. This wasn’t a movie. This was my life that led me to speed down a backcountry road in the middle of nowhere trying to outrun this nightmare. My monster was real, in the form of a man. He was always watching, waiting to pos
sess me. The sting of tears in my eyes, blurred my vision even more. I struggled to focus; fear weighed on me like a ton of bricks. My monster isn’t hiding in the darkness ahead; his henchman was tailing somewhere behind me. The adrenaline that has fueled me on for the past two hours had weaned from my veins and my limbs grew numb.
The impending storm looming in the distance sent chills of unease reeling through my body. My eyes darted across my surroundings looking for a new direction out of its path. I spotted a sharp turn out of the corner of my eye and made a hard right. Screeching tires skidding on the pavement shattered the silence. The glare of my headlights bouncing off the trees as my car spun out of control was the last thing I saw before complete darkness engulfed me.
By the time my eyes flickered open the storm was on top of me. The buzzing in my ears gave way to the thunderous booms outside. Rain pounded against the cracked windshield as I fumbled for the wipers. They wouldn’t work. I turned the key to re-engage the engine. It sputtered and stalled.
“Shit!” I turned it again, the engine cranked, sputtered and stalled. “Damit!”
I winced at the pain radiating through my torso and flung my backpack onto my shoulder, thrusting against fallen branches to escape the wreck. Icy rain poured over me sending shivers down my spine and goosebumps up my arms. The crunch of twigs and debris snapping under my feet echoed through the night, as I stumbled up the ditch towards the road. I tugged the baseball cap lower to cover my eyes from the hammering rain.
Puddles splashed in multiple directions splattering mud on my already soaked sweat-pants. Water rushed off the trees towering over me clinging my saturated T-shirt to my curves. Silver shards of lighting shattered the darkness. I gripped the disposable cell-phone tightly in my wrinkly fingers skimming the area for a signal as the battery icon flashed low. Powering it down I screamed into the night, “Shit!”
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