“Just another few minutes,” Eddie mumbled. She even intimidated him.
“Fine, but remember it’s his first day out of ICU.” She pinned them with a threatening glare.
“We should sic her on Frank,” Eddie said.
“Oh, don’t worry, Frank’s gonna pay.” He wanted to slam something and toss every fuckin’ machine in the room out the window.
“I got a few ideas.”
“Me too.” Jonny snorted in disgust. “And all of them end with a bullet in Frank’s head.”
Eddie bared his teeth in a feral scowl. “He’s not worth twenty to life in the joint.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” He banged his fist against the bedrail, then gritted his teeth against the pain.
Eddie glanced over his shoulder and leaned in closer. “We’d be the first ones the cops would grab.”
“Fuck that.” His fist clenched, and the IV pulsed against his hand again.
“Don’t talk crazy.”
Eddie didn’t feel his rage. He hadn’t had a gun pointed at the only person he’d ever loved. He’d placate him for now. Tell Eddie what he wanted to hear, then make sure Frank got good and dead.
“It’s these fuckin’ pain meds.” Jonny sighed. “They screw with my head.”
“Cheryl didn’t want me to tell you about Carlos and Graciela yet, but I figured you should know.” Eddie moved closer to the bed. “And don’t go telling her I got you worked up, or she’ll be ragging on my ass all day tomorrow.”
“Right ”
~ ~ ~
Later, after Eddie and Cheryl left, Jonny’s mind churned and twisted. When the night nurse arrived with his sleeping pill, he faked taking it, then crushed the capsule with his fingers when she left. He didn’t want to sleep. He had too much to plan. Fuck careful. He fantasized about the ways he would take Frank out. From fast and deadly to slow and painful, anything to make him suffer.
Then Cheryl dominated his thoughts. She was fearless and reckless. Even Eddie agreed. And now that they’d admitted their love, she would stop at nothing to help him. If he truly loved her, he had to protect her from his violent life. Stop acting like a selfish punk and set her free.
Chapter 36
For the last seven days, Cheryl and Eddie walked the corridors of Miami General. They were on a first name basis with the nurses, security guards, and even the cafeteria staff. The Miami Herald made Jonny their most popular patient. The doctor finally released him, and tomorrow they would be on a plane to New York.
Eddie surprised her by not stopping at the nurse’s station to do his usual flirting, but Cheryl chalked it up to the pressures of returning to New York. Jonny and Eddie had business to deal with, but she never questioned Jonny’s loyalty to her. Most of her life she’d ached for the simplest emotions from people, emotions most people took for granted. But he filled a void and wrapped her in the security of his love, and although it didn’t come easy, she trusted him to put her first.
She stood by his bedside as he sipped the Starbucks coffee that became their daily routine. A few feet away Eddie stared out the window, apparently intrigued by the view of the parking lot.
“I have something for you.” Jonny studied her for a moment, then set the coffee aside. He opened the metal drawer of the hospital night table, extracted an envelope, and handed it to her.
She ripped it open, pulled out the printed e-ticket, and glanced at the dates. “Weren’t we leaving tomorrow?”
“I am.” He shifted his gaze to the bedsheets for what felt like an eternity. “But I want you to leave today.”
“Why?” She moved closer to the bed.
“So you can get settled in Brooklyn Heights.” He drew his lips to a firm line.
“Brooklyn Heights?”
Her heart thumped hard against her ribs, and the blood pounding in her ears made it impossible to concentrate.
“Luxury building. Big enough for you and your brother. Great view of Manhattan.”
She looked to Eddie, but he continued to stare out the window. Had she fallen into some kind of bizarre vortex and spit into another universe?
“What are you talking about?”
“I also started a bank account in your name. There’s enough there for the first six months.” He focused on his hands. “After, if you need more . . .”
“I don’t understand.” She grabbed the bedrail for support. “You said you wanted me to move in with you.”
“Not anymore.”
His voice sounded so matter-of-fact like he was reciting his phone number or reading the daily receipts from the club.
“Please tell me what’s going on.” Her hands trembled against the cold metal bars. “You’re scaring me.”
Again, he diverted his attention to the bed covers. “It’s too dangerous for you to be with me.”
“I don’t care about that,” she said stubbornly.
“But I do.” He swore under his breath.
“Please think about what you’re saying,” she pleaded.
“All I do is think.” He slammed his hand against the bedrail, and she jumped.
“Did you know about this?” Her gaze darted to Eddie, demanding a response. His blank stare and stiff nod sent a cold chill up her spine.
“Ahhh, of course, you did.” She blinked a few times and struggled to make sense of this nightmare and her own raging fears. “So you've discussed this with everybody but me.”
“It has to be this way.”
“Right, because the hell with what I want.” Her voice quivered with heartbreak. “Or what I need.”
“Don't you get it?” Jonny shouted. “Max could’ve shot you, too.”
At last some emotion. An indication he hadn’t been drugged or gone crazy.
“This is your answer? Hand me a plane ticket, tell me you’re throwing me out of your life, and I’m supposed to roll over and take it?”
“I’m not throwing you out.” The vacant expression returned. “You’re gonna have a brand-new place and plenty of money.”
She stared at him, astonished he thought this would placate her. Did he have any idea of the depth of her love? How leaving him would demolish her and strip her bare?
“But I only want you.” Her voice broke on that truth.
Humiliating silence followed, and when he refused to look at her, she lashed out.
“I don’t want your condo, and I don’t need your money.” She struggled to scrape up her last ounce of pride. “I’ve taken care of myself in the past, and I’ll do it again.”
“Don’t be stupid, Cheryl.” His voice was rough and unyielding. “Take what I’m giving you.”
Then the truth hit her square between the eyes. Jonny Vallone didn't give up when he wanted something. He'd told her pretty lies in his bed when it was convenient, ‘cause it got him off, but when it became too difficult, he bailed.
“You’re right. I am stupid. Stupid to think you were different. Stupid to think we had a future.” She staggered backward, needing distance from him. “I guess all that shit about loving me was the usual thing you say to a woman after screwing her brains out?”
“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
It couldn't get any harder. The hope of someone truly loving her disintegrated and broke apart. The misery of having a glimpse of happiness only to have it snatched away.
“Don’t worry, Jonny.” Her voice sounded flat to her ears. “I’ll make it real easy for you.” She held up the plane ticket. “I’ll take this and go to New York, but you can keep your condo and your money. Give it to the next girl who wanders into the minefield you call a life.”
Seconds before the tears blurred her vision, Jonny jerked his chin toward Eddie.
“He doesn't need to follow me.�
�� She backed her way toward the door. “I'm not your problem anymore.”
“Go with her.” Jonny's voice sounded distant and detached.
“Hypocrite.” She stopped and fixed him with a deadly glare. “Acting like you care.”
“I'll always care,” he mumbled it so low she wouldn't have heard it if her every nerve wasn't tingling like a high voltage wire laying in a puddle of muddy water.
She bolted for the door and stumbled down the wide, white corridors in a daze. Her whole world had shriveled up and crashed against her brain.
Chapter 37
One week back in New York, but it wasn’t enough. The sad shakiness in Cheryl’s voice haunted Jonny. Alone in bed at night in the dark, it screamed above the silence. Her sorrow and absolute dejection haunted him. It reminded him of every other bum who drifted into her life, messed with her, then bailed.
What he wouldn’t do for an IV filled with morphine now. His pain meds were downgraded to Tylenol, but they couldn’t squash the guilt or the ache from turning her away. Emotions he couldn’t afford, feelings that made him vulnerable and weak at a time when he needed anger and hate. His obsession with revenge and keeping Cheryl safe made him push her away. Putting a bullet in Frank’s brain left him no choice but to do this, and do it right.
Shadows covered the end of the dark pier, making it the perfect place to park. The foggy mist that drifted off the water made him flip up the collar of his jacket. From here he could walk alongside the abandoned warehouses using the darkness for cover. He sure as hell didn’t need lights. He’d roamed these alleyways since he was a kid, memorizing every squeaky board and broken brick.
Frank’s compulsion for schedules made him vulnerable. Like the way he drove himself to his weekly poker game every Thursday night, then returned to his office at midnight to lock up his winnings, arrogant that his power made him untouchable.
A noise to his left drew his gaze deeper into the shadows. He squinted against the blackness as he closed his fist around the .45 in the waistband of his pants. A dark form materialized under the glow of the halogen security lights.
“What the hell? You gotta get outta here.”
“Oh, no.” Cheryl planted her hands on her hips. “You’re not pushing me away this time.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” he rasped through the mist.
“I’m not some delicate flower that needs taking care of.”
Right, just a stubborn woman who wouldn’t listen to reason and once again put herself in danger.
She stepped into the light. “Let me help you and prove that we’re equals.”
He stared at her dressed in black from head to toe. Even her beautiful blond hair was tucked into a black skull cap. Cat woman.
“Going in guns blazing, or a more subtle approach?” She motioned to the gun he gripped. “I suggest subtle.”
“I suggest you get the hell outta here and let me finish the job.”
“Not going to happen.” She shook her head in stubborn determination.
“You know how I’m gonna do this, right?”
“Well, I hope you’re going to shoot the bastard ‘cause I’m really anxious to get this done and declare our freedom.”
Freedom, yeah.
Headlights reflected against the water. “He’s right on schedule.”
“I’ll go in first. He knows I double-crossed him but I’m sure I can distract him,” Cheryl said.
“Distract him, how?”
She cocked her head in a “how do you think” look.
Jonny pressed them against the bricks in one of the alcoves as Frank’s BMW i8 rumbled over the cobblestones.
“That cocksucker was hitting on you?” Jonny narrowed his eyes.
“Every chance he got.”
“Did he put his hands on you?”
She shrugged. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Another good reason to end him.”
“We’re wasting time,” she said.
“You got five minutes to get him where I want him.”
“That’s four more than I need.”
He looked deep into her eyes. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Trying to set me up for murder, threatening my brother, threatening you? Yeah, I do.”
Frank’s car slowed, then stopped in front of the metal stairs leading to the back of the warehouse. The driver’s side door opened, illuminating the interior, indicating Frank was alone, as expected. Then he slammed the car door and climbed the metal steps to the warehouse.
“It’s showtime.” She flashed him a smile and turned.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “Be careful.” Then he cupped her head and leaned in for a kiss in a rough, wild attempt to tame her. Impossible.
She squirmed out of his hold.
“Always.” She stalked off along the building shielded by the shadows.
He missed her stubborn attitude. He hadn’t even told Eddie he was coming here so how had she’d known? He’d made himself clear in the hospital room, but here she was again brave to the point of reckless. The darkness swallowed her up as he counted off the time in his head.
He pushed off the wall, and the weight of the .45 pressed against his abs. He dipped his chin against the damp wind gusting off the river. His pace quickened, and the incision in his chest burned. By the time he reached the warehouse stairs, he gripped the metal railing for support. He stood for a few long minutes and listened to the wheezing of his lungs when a gunshot rang out. Then another.
Sprinting up the stairs, he ignored the searing pain that ripped through his chest. He gulped in a few deep breaths, but it didn't help, so he slid the .45 from his waistband and bolted toward the office. He stopped short outside the door and listened. A terrifying silence made him squeeze the gun tighter. He counted to three, nudged the half-open door with his gun, then slowly shouldered through to the office, and froze.
“What the fuck?” Jonny shouted.
Alejandro jumped at the sound of his voice.
Jonny inched further into the office, the smell of gun powder hung in the air, with Cheryl plastered against the wall.
Jonny scanned the room. “Where’s Frank?”
Cheryl pushed off the wall and pointed behind the massive wooden desk. “I was working my magic, and this guy”—she jerked her thumb at Alejandro— “pushes me aside, says something in Spanish, then blasts him between the eyes.”
Jonny closed the gap between them and grabbed onto her, hugged her tight and then held her at arm’s length. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but my freakin’ ears are ringing.”
A consuming exhaustion crept through his bones. What if Cheryl had startled Alejandro and he shot her or got in his way. There were a million fuck ups and ways he could’ve lost her.
Jonny shook off the fear and edged around the desk to stand alongside Alejandro. They stared at Frank’s lifeless body.
“I’ve avenged my family. Now my uncle can rest in peace.” Alejandro nodded to Jonny’s gun. “Looks like we’re more alike than you think.”
Jonny squeezed the butt of his gun and pointed it at Frank.
“Go ahead,” Alejandro encouraged. “It made me feel better.”
Silence filled the room. For too long Jonny let the hate and anger choke him, while Frank pulled the leash shorter and shorter until it snapped. With one harsh breath, he lowered the gun and let his hand hang limp at his side. Jonny dragged his gaze away from Frank’s body, laid his gun on the desk, and met Cheryl in the middle of the room. “When I heard that gunshot—”
“I’m fine, really.”
She stroked his cheek, but he couldn’t shut out the picture of another woman he loved lying dead on the floor.
He leaned again
st the desk, suddenly exhausted.
Alejandro’s voice filled the silence. “Carlos and Graciela wouldn’t have been in that alley if it wasn’t for me.”
Jonny drew in a deep breath, unsure if he wanted to hear about their last moments.
Alejandro’s eyes were dark with torment. “After you threw me out of the club, Carlos followed me and caught me selling to Graciela.” Alejandro flexed his hand as he focused on the gun again. “We fought, and I left. I was halfway up the alley when I heard the shots. I hid in one of the doorways, and Max ran past me.”
“Didn’t you go back? Try to help them?”
“Of course I did, but they were already dead, so I ran home, got trashed, and when I woke up the next morning, I thought I was tripping . . . until I saw the news.”
“Oh, man.” Jonny rubbed his hand over his face.
Cheryl came up alongside him and rubbed his back, but his insides heaved with guilt. Carlos and Graciela dead and Cheryl put in danger again. All because of him.
“That’s why I needed to make things right,” Alejandro said.
Jonny turned to Cheryl. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.”
The sound of heavy footsteps in the hall silenced them. The slow, deliberate gait tipped Jonny off.
“Looks like I’m a little late to the party.” Eddie strode into the office, glanced at the guns, then peered over the desk.
“I did it just the way you told me,” Alejandro said to Eddie.
“You set this up?” Jonny raised an eyebrow.
Eddie moved around the desk. “You didn’t think I believed that act in the hospital, did you?” Eddie’s brow shot up. “You’re a lousy actor, and I knew you wouldn’t let this go, so I set it up with Alejandro before we left Miami. Then tonight I saw the gun missing from the safe.”
Eddie’s gaze flicked to Cheryl. “And I see you don’t do as you’re told either.”
Beyond Paradise Page 19