The house was empty when I got there – thank god. I tossed down my bookbag and plugged up my headphones and let myself drown in music. I didn’t have a shift tonight so I could do my homework later when I was more rational. I had a psych paper to write, and I could see myself inadvertently letting my feelings come out in the essay and then my professor would have me committed. Right, best to hold off.
I’d been zoned out for god knows how long, I didn't even hear the music anymore. I was just thinking about me and Gio’s relationship. The good and the bad, the hot and the sad… and wondering what was going to happen next. Was this business going to be the thing that would finally break us up after all the other bullshit? That’d be something I tell you. I was so lost in my own thoughts, that when a hand wrapped around my ankle, I screamed bloody murder.
I sat up quickly, my heart pounding and saw the last person I expected to see.
Victor.
Again.
In my room. Talk about déjà vu.
I opened my mouth to blast him when I noticed Taylor sitting on her bed staring with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m out.” Was all I said as I got up and left closing the door behind me. Not knowing what to do with myself I went to the kitchen and decided to make something to eat. Naturally, since I needed to do something with myself to not only calm me from the Gio insanity but the run-in with my sister and that douche and knowing they were under the same roof, I started a meal that would take some time and effort.
Once I was done, I sat down and began eating. I could’ve been eating cardboard for all I knew. I hadn’t tasted a thing. I was now again pissed because after Gio hung up on me, he hadn’t even bothered to call or text. He had no idea where I was or if I was ok and he didn’t even seem to care. That was fucked all by itself if you ask me. But then again, I’m a big girl, and I’ve been taking care of myself for a hell of a long time anyway. Screw men.
My earbud was snatched out of my ear. “Did you make some for me honey?” Victor teased.
I scowled at him and snatched my earbud back. “No.”
He touched his chest over his heart. “Aww, now that hurts.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can you leave me alone?” I asked.
“It’s a friendly chat. I’m not doing anything to you.” He said.
I scoffed. “Yea, you are.”
He frowned. “How?”
I waved my hand gesturing to him. “Your presence alone is annoying and makes me sick.” I wasn’t in the mood for the avoidance bullshit I usually do.
His face turned dark. “I’d be careful if I were you.” He warned.
I met his look head-on. “Oh, yeah?”
He bared his teeth. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours now?” he asked.
I grinned. “What boyfriend?” I asked teasing him. He looked confused for a beat, and then I snapped my fingers as if I just remembered something and I pointed to his face. “The one that fucked you up, you mean?”
His laugh was menacing. “I’d watch it, little girl. He’s not around to save you this time.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away. I felt shivers down my spine because it was apparent that he meant that. “Arent you here with Taylor?” I asked feeling extremely wary and uncomfortable.
“What? You think she’s going to save you?” he laughed humourlessly. “She fucking hates you.” He started to walk off but turned back at the last second. “But, who’s going to save her?” he asked, words full of promise and entirely too cocky.
Something wasn’t right. I felt it in my gut. Call it a premonition, but I knew something was really off. This was very unlike him. Teasing and annoying, yes. But there was something… he was too sure, and he never made threats. He wasn’t about that life. He used jokes to put shit out there. When I was sure he was gone, I picked up my phone with trembling hands and walked into the living room. I considered just bolting, but I couldn’t fucking leave Taylor.
Fuck, it was always Taylor. And you would think by the way she treated me this shouldn’t be a fucking issue, but I wasn’t like her. I pulled up Gio’s number and kept looking over my shoulder. He didn’t answer, and I tried him again. After I called him back to back for the fourth time, he finally picked up.
“Fucking hell Julie, what’s with you today. I didn’t answer for a reason I’m busy.” He was so over me, but I couldn’t give a flying fuck. I was scared.
I spoke to him in a whispered voice. “Sorry.” I rushed out. “It’s just I’m sca – “
I was cut off by him muffling the phone and talking to someone else. He finally came on the line. “Look, I’ll call you when I can.”
NO! “No, wait. It’s just I’m home – “
“I figured. I have to go.” And he disconnected.
I was going to call him back when I heard my sister let out a scream. I dropped my phone as my entire body began to shake. I dove for it and decided against trying to reach Gio again. Instead, I pulled up Dante’s number. I thought of calling him but decided that it was too risky in case he didn’t answer so I typed a text.
Me: I need help. I’m at my house, something bad is happening. Please come.
I pocketed my phone and steeled my nerves. When my sister screamed again, my fight or flight instincts kicked in, and I took off towards the room. Just as I was almost to the door, it opened. I got a glimpse of my sister restrained to the bed. She was sweating, and there was a needle sticking out her arm. Victor ran right into me sending us both crashing backward to the ground. I immediately began to struggle.
He tried to grab my arms but he wasn’t fast enough, and I was able to lay a strong punch to his face. His head whipped to the side, but he seemed otherwise unaffected. When he was able to get both of my arms down, I did the only thing I could. I headbutted the shit out him. It caused me to see stars, but it didn’t knock me out. It, however, surprised him and caused his hold on me to loosen. I was able to scramble from underneath him. I began running, and he caught up with me in the kitchen. He tried to take me down again but I was too close to the counter, so instead, I fell over it. I felt the air leave my body as my stomach slammed against the edge.
I began to panic, and that’s where I saw the remnants of the chopped vegetables and the big ass knife I’d use to cut them. I picked it up and stabbed him straight through his hand. He released me and staggered back as he gripped his wound. I used the moment to kick the shit out him into his chest sending him flying backward into the table, and it collapsed beneath him. I began running for the door intending to get outside and call the cops. I got the door opened and stepped out as two strong arms snatched me from behind.
How the fuck did he get up so fast?
“Relax little girl.” That wasn’t his voice, and I fought harder. I hand came up to cover my mouth to muffle my screams, and I bit into it as hard a could. “Fuck.” I heard behind me.
“This bitch is crazy.” Another voice.
“Knock her out.”
The no was at the tip of my tongue, but it never came out. I felt a blow to the back of my head, and just like that… it was lights out.
*****
Giovanni
I felt like a douche. That was the second time today that I hung up on Julie. I don’t know how the fuck she did it, but the girl gave me some type of conscience. The thing is, it’s not like I want to treat her like this. The thing is, I know Julie. I know what she wants, and I’m not intentionally keeping from her. She wants to feel loved, and she wants me loving on her, but right I just can't. We’ve made no headway into who the fuck is behind this shit, and after I’d gotten another threat against my family, I couldn’t afford a distraction.
Julie.
That body. That mind. That smart as fuck mouth… was exactly that. A distraction. I could get lost in her and forget about the world, but I couldn’t afford that right now.
I’ve been using all my resources and manpower to find out what the fuck is happening, and I’m ready to pull my hai
r out. Every time it seems like we make progress, we hit a fucking brick wall. I figured when she’d call me earlier she went home. I fucked up and totally forgot about her, and I knew that was the only place she’d go. Honestly, it’s probably for the best. It’s better than her being in my home with or without me and feeling ignored. When all this shit was said and done though, I had plans to make it all up to her. Fuck, I’d romance the hell out of her if that’s what my girl needs to feel better.
But only when this is done.
I looked up from the footage I was reviewing to see Dante start to slip his phone from his pocket. I glared. “Whatever the fuck it is, is not more important than this. Your booty call can wait until we’re done.”
He grimaced and slipped it right back in. “My bad, boss.”
After about thirty minutes or so, I felt like I was going to pass out. No one has eaten since breakfast, and I know these fuckers were useless hungry, so we broke to get our heads back on and to eat. I walked away from the table and ran my hands through my hair for the thirtieth time for the day. I held my phone in my hand as I contemplated calling Julie back to apologize, soften the blow. After thinking about it for five minutes, I said fuck it and called her.
Voicemail.
Voicemail again.
Fuck she was pissed.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket as I realized I was going to have a hell of a lot of making up to do. My hands were practically itching for her, but I knew once we called it a night I’d be fucking useless again. I needed to find a balance. Thoughts of her being unsatisfied and going to seek it elsewhere plagued me, and I was ready to commit murder. Those thoughts consumed me, and I initially didn’t hear Dante’s panicked voice.
He shook me, and I snapped out of it. “What the fuck?!” I blasted him.
He ignored my tone. “We gotta go. I have a text message from Julie saying something was wrong at her place.”
I was already running by the time he finished speaking. Me, Angelou, Dante, Pops, and Uncle Pac loaded up into the car and was off in minutes. It was a miracle we didn’t get pulled over or end up in a highspeed police chase because we broke every fucking traffic law imaginable. I didn’t give a fuck about any of that, all I could think of was getting to my girl and making sure she was ok. I was hoping this was some cry for attention. If that were the case, I would walk into a church tonight and repent for every single one of my sins – and lord knows there's a lot of them. I held onto that hope the entire ride to her house.
That shit faded the minute we pulled up. The front door was wide open, and that left a churning in my gut. I hopped out the car and was in before anyone else. I drew my gun and began moving from room to room. Everything looked ok until I hit the kitchen. There was broken glass from a plate, the table was broken, and there was blood all over the place. My stomach immediately clenched. But I kept going because I had to find Julie. Dante had run past me straight to the back.
“Boss, get here quick,” Dante called sounding uneasy.
My stomach dropped.
No.
I ran that way, the others footsteps like a stampede behind me but all I could hear was the blood rushing to my ears. I burst into the room and saw a figure on the bed. I instantly felt sick and thought I was going to die. I felt like I was going to pass out.
“Son, get your shit together. It’s not her.”
It took a minute for the words to filter in and the room slowly started to come back. I looked again, and he was right. It was Taylor, strapped to a bed. She looked either dead or unconscious.
“I’ve got a pulse. It’s faint.” Dante called out.
I ran over to them. “Taylor.”
No response.
“Taylor,” I called again.
Nothing.
“Dude, she needs attention,” Pops noted. “Get doc.”
“FUCKING TAYLOR!” I boomed as I slapped her.
She came to and looked disoriented. I grabbed her shoulders as Dante and Angelou worked on releasing her. “What happened?” I asked and noticed the needle sticking out of her arm.
“Took her… have.. to.. find.” She muttered.
I extracted the needle from her arm, and she didn’t even flinch. What the fuck did they do to her? “Where is Julie?” I pressed.
Her eyes zoned out. “Don’t know. Gone. Victor.” She said in broken sentences.
I didn’t understand. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“Guy. Victor.” She shivered and then her body arched off the bed.
I motioned to Dante. “Where the fuck is the doc?” I asked.
“On the way, he said to keep her going until he gets here. He’s not sure if he can…” he trailed off and waved a hand. “Save her. No idea whats in her.”
I shook her. “Talk to me, tell me what you know.”
She seemed completely paralyzed now, and she looked at me in wonder when she finally met my eyes again. “She didn’t go dark. She needs to see black. She going… to… fight it, but she can’t.” she started to shake. “Needs it.” she attempted to shake her head, but it was a small movement. “Tell her I’m gone. Tell her that she needs the darkness to help me, she’ll know what that means. She’ll do it. She’ll get away.” She said.
She was losing her shit, I was sure of it. What the fuck is this black shit she’s talking about? The drugs or whatever the fuck is taking its toll. I tried one more time. “Tell me something I can fucking use! I have to save her.” I begged.
She tried to make a smile instead her lips just cracked open causing more blood on her mouth. She started to speak again, but her eyes started to roll back.
I gripped onto her tighter. “Tell me something.”
Her body arched off the bed. “Dark!” she screeched. “Wants… money. Wants you. Just say that to her.” She got out before she started convulsing. I backed away not sure what to do when the doc pushed into the door, and I was ushered out.
“What did she say?” Dante asked.
I shook my head trying to get it all right in my head. “Nothing. She didn’t tell me anything, all she kept saying was make sure I let Julie know something about darkness and black. I don’t know what that means.”
Dante and Angelou looked at me curiously and confused. “What are we going to do?” Pops finally asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I think I’ll be getting a ransom call for her. That’s all I got. She said something about me and money, I guess payment? She just kept going on and on about nonsense. Wanting me to tell Julie something.” I told them.
“What?” Angelou asked.
I shrugged. “Something about black. It might be some code shit for them, but I don’t know that’s going to help my girl. She even told me to say to them she was gone… but she was mostly blabbering, not making any sense. Maybe Taylor’s a goth? I’ll remember it, but I don’t think I have shit to make another move and it's pissing me off. She also said the name, Victor. The only Victor I know, is her sisters squeeze for the moment. Julie’s punk ass ex. She brought him up too, but I think she's too fucked to give me details.” I said.
“So all we have to go on is Victor and black? Maybe that’s the color he was wearing?” Angelou suggested trying to put that shit together.
I shrugged. “I’m not about the guessing game. I want Julie back, and I’ll do anything that I need to do to have her back.” I said affronted.
The doc walked in at that moment, and we all stepped out of the room to let him do his thing. “What now boyo?” my uncle asked.
I cursed. “We find this Victor mother fucker.” I turned my attention to Angelou. “Get the fucking word out. I want his ass, alive.”
“Copied.” Louie was pissed himself and walked away to take care of that. In the meantime, I still didn’t know where the fuck Julie was, and it was making all my demons come alive.
I looked at my dad. “Pops. I wanted to make things straight.” He knew I meant the business, my life.
He looked back know
ingly. “I know.”
I shook my head. “Right now, that’s all out the window.”
He nodded. “I know that too.”
“Every mother fucker that even had a thought about this shit is dead,” I told him and sized him up. He was all about me getting shit right, he pushed it once I proposed it. Now, I was challenging him. Because no mother fucker was going to stop me… not even pops. “Problem?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side. “You love her?” he asked. Although, his facial expression seemed like he already knew the answer.
“Damn right. And I don’t give a fuck who stands in my way.” A threat.
He nodded. “Agreed. We’re getting my princess back by any means necessary.” He shook his head. “I’ll get my people on it.”
I sighed in relief, and for once I didn’t feel any type of way by him calling her his princess. That’s how he refers to my sisters too, and that’s his way of saying my girl is family. “Dad.” Was all I could muster.
For the first time since I was a kid, my dad threw his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. The touchy-feely shit was usually reserved for my mother. I felt vulnerable but, fuck. My fucking girl! I appreciated the gesture, and in a sense, I felt that he was comforting himself as well. He loved the fuck out of Julie, I could see it clear as day. Shit, since the moment he knew she fucked up Alex he started falling for her ass.
“I need her back.” I crocked out for his ears only. I felt useless and… FUCK ME, I'm pretty sure I wanted to cry.
“we will get her back son.” My dad reassured me.
He released me, and I looked to my dad as I did as a kid. As if he hung the world, and had all the answers. “But… how? I don’t know where she is or if shes…” I swallowed my emotions. I couldn’t even finish that statement.
He patted my shoulder and pushed me back, so I was eye to eye with him. “If you’re going where I think you’re going I would be concerned. Have you met my girl?” he asked.
I gave him a partially watery smile. “I know her better than you.”
Taken by the Boss: The Ruzzo Family Page 22