“Well played, Mr. Lanutti. How am I supposed to know that these documents won’t be given to the police once I let you go?”
“Because I value Jessie’s and my life and going back on a deal with you is not a risk that I want to take.”
We stare at each other for the longest time, neither of us wanting to be the first to look away. I see the moment he’s going to concede. His shoulders slump slightly and I know he hates that this will be one loose end he can’t wrap up, but he really has no choice. “When you leave here you will have no more than twenty four hours to leave the country. After that, there will be a price on your head and if you ever decide to try and come back, know that the bounty will still be valid.” He stands from his chair. “This is not something I usually offer, so I suggest you make the best of it and –”
A gunshot rings silencing the entire room. All four of us move at once racing toward the room it originated from. I get to the door first throwing it open and see Jessie laying on the floor and Randy Acardi standing over her. All the color drains from my face as I take in the scene before me, terrified that Jessie is dead. Before I can say a word, he slowly turns around revealing a red stain on his shirt that is spreading faster by the second.
I run to Jessie as Anthony screams at the sight of his son. I kneel beside her and gently lift the arm covering her face. Her eyes fly open and she starts struggling and fighting, screaming ‘No!’ over and over. Once they settle on me, she calms down and the empty look in her eyes fades as they come to life.
“Nicholas?” I take my first full breath the moment I hear her voice. Oh God, she’s alive. The second thought that crosses my mind is that she said my name. It’s the first time that she has ever acknowledged my real identity without me forcing it. “You have to leave, they’re going to kill you.” She starts pushing me away as she looks around in fear.
“No, baby, everything will be okay.” I help her sit up but when she winces I freeze.
“I think my ribs are broken,” she says weakly. Rage fills my body knowing that she was hurt here. She was hurt because of her connection to me.
I look down at her trying to reign in my anger. Getting pissed off isn’t going to do either of us any favors. I want to rip everyone of them to fucking pieces. I want to show them the pain that they showed her. I want to fucking kill them. “Can you stand?”
She nods her head. “I think so.”
I gently pull her up and support most of her weight. When I look back toward the door, I see one of Anthony’s men closing it. Shit, this doesn’t look good. Anthony is leaning over the body of his son speaking in Italian. When he stands, he removes a gun from the holster on his hip and points it at Jessie.
I pull her behind me. “No. You said that we were even. We had a deal.”
“That was before your little bitch there killed my fucking son!” He screams so loud that I feel Jessie trembling in fear against my back.
“Look at her. I’m sure that is the handy work of your son. She was defending herself just as anyone else would. This doesn’t change the fact that if anything happens to us, the police will get all of their evidence back.”
He doesn’t respond to me for what seems like the longest time. I can tell that there is an inner struggle going on within him, an inner struggle that will determine our fate. “You now have twelve hours to leave the country and three minutes to leave my property before you’re fucking dead.” His voice is void of emotion and his vacant eyes look straight through me.
I turn around and scoop Jessie up hating the way she flinches and hisses through her teeth in pain, but knowing that it’s a necessity. I sprint past the three murderous men and out to the car, pulling away as soon as I can get the door closed.
I look over and see Jessie sitting there. She’s breathing and for the most part okay.
I did it.
I finally have her.
Chapter 14
Jessie
I lean my head against the window and try to catch my breath. I can’t get the picture of Randy’s bloody body out of my mind. The fact that I’m the one who shot him is even worse. My body has been shaking uncontrollably since we pulled out of that hell hole. I’m sure I’m going into shock as the events of the last couple days wash over me and I have time to process them. Nicholas pulls the truck over in a parking lot behind a store. Neither of us says a word.
“Hey.” I look over at him. He is staring at me as if I’m a piece of glass that will shatter if he talks too loud. “Are you okay?”
His hands are fisted at his side, and I don’t know if he is mad or if something else is wrong. “Um, as good as I can be. I think my ribs are broken.”
He closes his eyes and doesn’t respond. He won’t even look at me and I have no idea why.
“Are you mad at me? I know that I screwed up by shooting him but you don’t understand – ”
“Fuck no, I’m not mad at you, Jess.” He turns his body toward me. “I have been so fucking worried about you ever since I got that call. It’s driving me crazy to know that they hurt you. What’s even worse is that I know it’s because of me. If I had never been in your life none of this would have happened.” His head drops and I can finally see his pain. I was so focused on my own and what he did to me that I was never able to see how worried and stressed out he’s been.
I slowly turn toward him fighting through the pain that is stabbing at my side. “I’m okay, I promise. I’ll heal.” He looks up at me. “When they had me I had a lot of time to think about everything, about us. I realized that I had been holding onto someone that was no longer here, someone who, no matter how hard I tried, I could never move on with. I was holding onto Damon. I also realized that you aren’t him anymore. I needed to be able to see the two of you as separate entities and to bury the one who caused me so much pain. Damon Shaw is now dead to me.” His mouth slightly opens as if he is about to say something but he stops. “I am in love with, Nicholas Lanutti.”
He smiles at me and his mouth crashes to mine. Our bodies don’t connect and I know it is due to his fear that he will hurt me. I can feel his passion and his love pouring into me through his lips, refilling all of the cracks in me, and mending every torn piece of my heart. “Jessie, I love you so fucking much. I thought you stood me up that day and I was so pissed off, but when I found out that you were in danger, I couldn’t breathe. I would have gone to the ends of the Earth to keep you safe. You are a part of me and without you I can never feel like a whole person. This is a shitty situation and not at all like I had planned the day that they took you, but life is too fucking short.”
He slides off the bench of the truck until he is kneeling on the floor in front of the steering wheel. His hand reaches into his pocket and retrieves a black velvet box. Oh my God. “Jessica Evans, you are everything I have ever dreamed of and more than I could have ever asked for. You are the air that fills my lungs. When you’re not around, I feel empty, and lost. You are the only person to ever make me need someone, to yearn for someone’s touch just to calm me. I want you by my side every minute of every day for the rest of my life, and I promise you that if you say yes I will make you the happiest fucking person in the entire world. Please put me out of the misery I have lived in for the past year, and marry me.” His teeth gnaw on his bottom lip as he nervously awaits my answer.
I have tears streaming down my face and my hands are clasped over my mouth. I never would have dreamed that this would happen. He is looking at me as if he is scared to move, and it’s then that I realize I haven’t answered him. “Yes.” Nicholas slips the ring onto my finger and kisses me once again. “I love you so much.”
He smiles at me. “I love you, baby.” He reaches behind us in the truck pulling out two hooded sweatshirts. “We need to get going now. I know somewhere I can get you something for the pain. You can’t do anything for ribs other then wrap them and take painkillers until they heal. By now the cops are definitely looking for me, so we will take the back roads.”
He helps me into the sweatshirt and I wince at the movement it requires. When he moves to slide back in front of the steering wheel I grab his arm. “I need to go by the house.” He doesn’t respond to me he just shakes his head no. “I have to. Please? It isn’t a secret anymore, right? I can’t just leave without a word, and I would really like to get some of my stuff.”
I keep eye contact with him silently pleading him to give me this one last thing before I dedicate the rest of my life to him. “Okay, but I need to check out the house first and make sure there aren’t any cops. Then you have fifteen minutes.”
“Deal.” He gives me one last kiss before he slides back over and begins to drive. We weave through the city streets avoiding all major highways. Nicholas stops the car in front of a house that looks like it is abandoned. “Stay in the car. Don’t open the door for anymore and do not get out.” His sharp tone brokers no rooms for argument.
“Where are you going?” I look around and notice that the neighborhood is definitely not one I would ever want to be caught in alone.
“I told you I am going to get you some painkillers.” He moves to open the door but I grab his arm.
“Hey, I can deal with it until they heal. Let’s just get out of here.”
“No, it’s actually dangerous for you not to take something. You’re not able to breathe or cough correctly and it can lead to a chest infection. I will be right back, babe.” He gives me a quick kiss before getting out of the car and disappearing into the house.
After a few minutes I see someone walking toward the car and my heart rate goes through the roof. They knock on the driver’s side window but I stare out of the windshield in front of me, terrified to make eye contact.
“Roll down the window.” They knock again and my hands are beginning to shake. I rub them down the front of my jeans, anxious to get the hell out of here. Where the hell is Nicholas? “You just gonna ignore me, bitch? What? You too good to look at me?” He is screaming now and I am starting to freak out.
When I hear yelling, I turn my head and Nicholas is coming down the steps. He has his gun drawn and is pointing it at the stranger. The man slowly backs away from the car with his hands up. Nicholas keeps the gun trained on him the entire time. Once he shuts and locks the door he speeds away. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just got a little freaked out.” I wrap my arms around myself trying to force the chills I have to go away. He puts his right hand on my thigh and rubs calming circles on it.
“I have your pills but you need to eat something before you can take them.” I nod my head in acknowledgement and lean my head back against the seat as we drive to my house.
All thoughts of my would-be mugger leave my mind as I focus back on the task at hand. I can’t believe I have to say goodbye to Lo, to tell her I’m leaving with no explanation of where we are going. Then it hits me that I don’t even know where we are going or how we are getting there. “Where are we going? And how are we getting there?”
“We are going to Dubai. We are taking a private jet that someone is letting me use as a favor. The U.S. can’t extradite me from there, and the city is actually really beautiful.” Dubai? The weight of our impending departure just got heavier. I am going to be in a strange country, with no one else I know but Nicholas. As we pull up in front of the house, I move to open the door, but the car doesn’t stop.
“What are you doing?” We pass the house and I look over at him.
“I want to circle the block and make sure no one is watching the house.” We take the slowest drive ever around the block and this time when we are in front of the house he stops. “Fifteen minutes, Jess. We are on a schedule.”
I nod my head and get out of the car. Once I open the front door, I freeze. An animalistic scream leaves my mouth and I sink down to the floor.
All I see is red.
Nicholas
I am sitting in the car setting the timer on my phone when I hear Jessie scream. All I can think is that the Acardi’s are here, that they went back on our deal. I bolt out of the car and sprint to the door where Jessie is sitting. She isn’t moving, isn’t talking and I can’t see anyone in front of her. “What’s wrong?” She doesn’t answer me. “Jessie what is it?” Still nothing.
I step inside of the house and that’s when I see it. Blood everywhere. My eyes scan the room, noticing the splatters of blood on every surface. I catch sight of the wall to my right. There’s a message written in what I assume is blood. ‘Now we’re even.’ Holy shit. My mouth falls open at the sheer gruesomeness of it. I don’t even know what to do. It’s not like I can call 911. I walk back over to Jessie and pick her up, knowing that I’ve got to get her out of here. I don’t want her venturing in any further and seeing her best friend like that. When I turn and start to carry her toward the car, she flips out. She starts flailing, hitting, kicking, punching, and scratching me. I run toward the car and climb in with her. I wrap her in my arms and hold her tight to my chest.
“Jessie, you need to stop. You’re gonna hurt yourself even more. Not only that, but if someone hears you they will call the cops and we will never get out of here.”
She shakes her head no. “I need to go back in there! I need to see her!”
“Baby, no. You won’t be able to.” I pause knowing what I am about to say will kill her. “The Acardi’s don’t leave bodies.”
She shrieks again and I move her over and buckle her seatbelt. Her knees pull up to her chest and she lowers her head as she is sobbing into them. I pull away from the house and head toward the airport. I need to get Jessie out of here, the quicker the better. I avoid the highways to make sure that I don’t get caught when we are so close to freedom.
My contact is a pretty well known judge who is going to be running for Senator soon. His daughter was kidnapped by some psychopath and I was the one to find her. He told me ever since that day that he owed me a favor. I’m sure the whole police department knows that I stole that evidence, so I obviously can’t go through security and I am probably on the no fly list. All of these factors have made it so that we can’t use the main airport, but there is a small runway about 30 miles away and he is waiting for me there.
I look over at Jessie and she is still huddled in her little ball. I don’t know what I can say. There is nothing to say.
Lo is dead because of me. And I’m afraid she’ll forever resent me for it.
Chapter 15
Jessie
All I see is the blood. It is on everything I look at. I see it when I close my eyes. I can’t escape it. None of this feels real. She can’t be gone. I need her too much. She was the only person in my life that I have been able to count on through thick and thin. Now she is gone forever and I never got to say goodbye to her.
I can feel him staring at me the entire car ride. I can’t look at him. I can feel myself going back into my shell; back to the way I was when I thought that I had lost Nicholas. It is easier to deal with your problems that way. You don’t need to face them, you can escape them. I’m moving again but I don’t care enough to see where he is taking me.
Nicholas sits me down in a chair and I look at my surroundings. We are in a small, plush plane. He kneels in front of me, but I lay my head back and turn to the side. I don’t care about the pain anymore, the physical pain in my ribs can’t hold a candle to the pain my heart is experiencing right now.
“Jessie, please look at me. Talk to me,” he pleads. I don’t acknowledge him. “Don’t shut me out. I’m here for you.”
That’s just it though. I don’t want him to be here for me. The only person I want to be here with me is my sister. She suffered because of me. I am the reason that her life is now over. I brought this trouble to us, and never even warned her about it ahead of time. I should have told her about Nicholas, and about the Acardi’s. Maybe if I had warned her she would still be here.
She’s gone, and now a part of me has gone with her
Epilogue
Jessie
Te
n months later
I stand on our balcony and look out at the amazing city skyline. The lights are mesmerizing this time of night. It’s been almost a year since we have been here, and I’m still not used to it. Nicholas took a job at a corporation down here, but I still have no idea what he does. He has explained it so many times, but it’s so boring I usually tune it out. When we moved here I was able to get a job as an English teacher. I love teaching kids the language and seeing their faces light up once they finally get it.
“Jessie!” I turn toward the living room, and see Nicholas standing there with Lauren. I smile when I see them because she is a carbon copy of her daddy.
We found out a few weeks after we moved here that I was pregnant. I was still in a really bad place at that time, but I think the baby helped pull me out of it. She gave me hope and a reason to live each day. I saw the doctor once we found out and he put me on bed rest until my ribs healed. We were scared for a while that something would be wrong with the baby because of everything that happened to me when I was kidnapped. Luckily they healed after a month or so and didn’t cause any problems.
I think about Lo each and every day. In the end I hope that they didn’t drag it out. I hope that she didn’t suffer due to mine and Nicholas’s actions. The guilt of her death is a burden that I carry every day of my life. Everywhere I go I see something that reminds me of her, or think of something I can’t wait to call and tell her. Lo lived a tortured life where her nightmares were real. Since the night I met her I don’t think she ever really had a day of peace. She used her humor and bubbly personality as a mask, as a shield for people to never be able to see the real person underneath. I think I may have been the only one to ever see that person. She hardly ever made herself vulnerable enough for me to get through the façade she put up. I wouldn’t call her on it, you don’t just live through what Lo did and move on. Not when none of your family knows. Not when the person who shattered you remains in your life. Lo never went home without me and I think part of that was because she was scared that he might be there. I hope and pray that she is finally at peace.
Shattered Lives Page 9