All Roads Lead Home

by Wasowski, Mary

  “You look happy, really happy,” Tommy said to me as he hugged me again.

  “I am my friend. So much has happened in the past month, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “Well, I think I’ve been properly brought up to speed. Your friend Shane can talk with a few drinks in him. And don’t worry, he didn’t say anything I already didn’t know about you. He seems to really genuinely care about you.”

  “He does, and I care for him, but…”

  “He doesn’t hold your heart like the big guy over there does, right?” Tommy finished my sentence and nailed it right on the head.

  “Exactly. Are you mad at me?”

  “Now what kind of question is that? I could never be mad at you.”

  “I guess what I’m really asking is that what happened between us will not affect our friendship, and we are okay?”

  “Always, Tenley, always. I already told you how I felt about our night together, but I now see why you could never move forward with me. You love Jagger, and that’s okay. As long as he treats you in the manner you deserve, you have my blessing friend. Be happy, that’s all I have ever wanted for you.”

  With tears in my eyes, I hugged Tommy and wished him well with Roxy. He told me that she had completely taken him by surprise. Once he allowed himself to feel something for someone besides me, it was like fireworks on the fourth. They had an instant connection and they both appeared to be happy.

  After Tommy and Roxy left, Zoey was not too far behind them. She had asked if I would mind her taking Shane out to the local hotspots. Shane seemed to be interested in Zoey, so what the hell?

  “Go have fun,” I told them both, and no sooner than I said it, they were out the door.

  “Holy shit! My boy moves quickly, doesn’t he?” Jagger said as he watched them getting a little too close for comfort and smiling as they looked at each other. We heard their echoing laughter as the doors to the elevator closed.

  “Jagger, I’m all for Shane having a great time, but is there something I need to know? He is still engaged to marry Shelby next month, right?”

  “As far as I know, baby, the wedding is still on.”

  “I hope you’re right, because I don’t want Zoey getting hurt. She deserves happy, not heartbreak, especially from a cowboy from Wyoming.”

  “Hey now, what’s that supposed to mean? A cowboy from Wyoming?”

  “Now don’t get all twisted up in your Stetson. What I meant to say and should have said better was that cowboys from the west are supposed to be charming, born with ingrained manners, and know how to treat a lady. I wouldn’t want Shane shattering that image for Zoey.”

  “I think your friend is safe, and Shane will be on his best behavior.”

  “Let’s hope so.” I smiled and kissed Jagger.

  The office had pretty much been abandoned by now. It was nearing seven, and I was just about to wrap things up when my private line buzzed. It was Raymond phoning me from his office.

  “Hi, Raymond. You’re here late tonight,” I said as I double checked my clock. He never worked past five on any given day. He asked if I could come up for a few minutes to speak with him before I left for the night. I agreed and said I would join him in a few.

  Jagger was just finishing up with a call from his father. All was well back home, and they just missed us and wanted to know when we would be back.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. My dad was just checking in. She-devil has been restless without me. He took her out for a ride this morning, but she wasn’t her best self, so she’s grounded to the stables until we return home.”

  “Oh, poor She-devil! Your horse misses you.” I hugged my man and kissed his nose.

  “Can we get out of here?” he said very slowly.

  “Yes we can, but not before I take one more meeting. I promise it will be a quick one,” I said with my fingers crossed behind my back. Any conversation with Raymond was never quick, more like an hour plus, and that’s before he got to the point.

  “I’m coming with you this time. No more ditching me.”

  “No need to follow. I’m only going two flights up.”

  “I’ll always follow you, baby, remember? That’s our deal and how we roll, got it?”

  “Got it. I won’t be long. I’m waiting on news from Jacob. I’m going to leave my cell with you in case he calls. Tell him I’m with Raymond, and I’ll call him back as soon as I can.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  “You know baby, I kind of like the sound of that. Maybe that will be my new nickname?” I said.

  Jagger leaped from the chair and scooped me up into his arms.

  “I like the sound of that too! You can boss me around anytime the mood strikes as long as it takes place in our huge, bigger and better bed than you have here in New York.”

  “I like my bed,” I said as he still held me in his arms.

  “Yeah, baby, I do too. But I’d much rather prefer you in our bed.”

  “Soon Jagger, I promise,” I said as he placed me down. I kissed him again and practically skipped down the hall to Raymond’s office.

  “Knock, knock. Raymond, are you here?” I called out to him as I walked into his office.

  The door slammed shut, and I turned around to come face to face with no other than Roberto Bornarelli, Jr.

  “Hey, whore! Remember me?” he said, as he punched me, landing a hit onto the side of my head. I was taken by complete surprise and his assault had me spiraling down to the floor.

  After he cowardly sucker punched me, my natural instinct was to lash back and defend myself, but I was too dizzy. I blacked out for a couple of minutes, because when I came to, my hands were bound to the chair with cable ties biting into my skin. My vision was blurred as I struggled to take in the figure before me. He was licking his lips and touching my hair.

  “Do not touch me!” I screamed out. He manically laughed at me and touched me again, this time flicking open the buttons of my blouse.

  “Oh I’m going to have fun with you baby…that is, before I cut you up. You have been nothing but a trouble making bitch and have messed with me for the last time. Yeah, I know you made a deal with my old man, but fuck him, you deal with me. Did you honestly think I didn’t know what you were up to? They all think I’m crazy, but that’s what I let them think so I can play behind the scenes and get what I want.”

  “And that is…? What do you want, Roberto? How do you see this playing out for you?”

  He didn’t answer my question and got up to grab the Scotch bottle off of Raymond’s bar. My eyes were back into focus and that’s where I saw his body, motionless on the floor near his sofa.

  “Roberto, is he dead?” I screamed out, but he still ignored me.

  Oh, please Jagger. Please find me. I was praying that Jagger would crash through the door at any minute, but then I stopped because Roberto would not hesitate on killing him if given the chance.

  “Roberto! Answer me. Is he dead?”

  “Calm your skirt, he’s not dead, just knocked out. He’s not the one I want, but I can put a bullet in his head if that will make you happy.”

  He took out his gun and aimed it at Raymond.

  “NO!” I screamed. “Please don’t hurt him, your fight is with me.”

  “You bet your sweet ass it is. Why couldn’t you have just left things alone? Your pal got his land back and we backed off, but you just had to keep digging until you came up with something to use against us. That fucking housing project was mine! I owned those people and now Ms. Nosy bitch of a lawyer gets involved and shuts me down. You know how much money I’ve lost because of you? Now how do you think I’m going to get that back? Hmm?”

  “Roberto, all you are is a small time capo who doesn’t know his head from his ass. You’ve been living in your brother’s shadow and memory for so long now, you don’t even know who the hell you are anymore. He was the one that everyone followed, not you. You’re not worthy enough to even be sec
ond choice. Your father is dying and will die in prison. You are not his heir to the throne. You are nothing and will never be more than just a hood rat who deals with bookies and takes advantage of innocent people trying to earn an honest living.”

  “Shut up!” he screamed.

  He threw the glass down onto the bar with shards of glass going everywhere and one piece landing at my feet. I slid it toward me and hoped I could use it to break free. Thank God, he didn’t see that.

  “You’re the one who doesn’t know anything,” he said, walking towards me.

  He slapped me again and again, until I was spitting blood from my mouth. The metallic taste made my stomach nauseous, and the pain from his assault made my cheek throb.

  “You think you’re so smart, bitch? My brother is dead because he got soft and led with his dick before his heart. He chose some slut over loyalty to his family. He thought he could get out? And try to go legit? Wake the fuck up, Vincenzo!”

  Roberto had become enraged and was screaming up toward the ceiling. His brother was dead, and Roberto was trying to move into his position of power, but was always held back by his father.

  “You see, Ms. Fairchild…oh I’ll miss saying that name once I kill you. Did you ever look in the mirror and say it out loud? ‘Fairchild’…sounds so classy, don’t you think? Damn! I’m starting to love that name. It’s too bad I have to kill the whore that it belongs to. Okay, you see how you distract me? Anyway, like I was saying, my brother was an idiot, and he was killed for it. My father thought it was a contract hit from the Carlucci Family, but wrong again. I took him out myself as he begged for mercy. I almost changed my mind at the very last second, but then he reminded me of something. It gave me great pleasure to torment him until I fired the shot into his brain. I took what was his and now plan to take what belongs to my father as well. Do you want to see what I took? Do you, whore?”

  Oh, he was losing his grasp with reality. He was sick and so deluded within his own warped mind.

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Oh, it’s good, wait for it. Hey, baby! Come on out. Someone wants to say hi.”

  If I hadn’t been tied to the chair, I may have just fallen over from the shock. It was Cheryl who walked into Raymond’s office, but it was her eyes that painted a different picture than the one Roberto wanted me to believe. I saw fear in her eyes as he grabbed her and started kissing her neck. She looked as if she was in pain and would do anything to stop him from touching her.

  He stepped in back of her and pushed her toward me.

  “You see baby? I got the bitch for you. You’ve loved me so good lately that I’m willing to let you do the first cut. Would you like that baby?”

  She looked at me and nodded her head, but it was not in agreement. At least that’s how it looked. It seemed like a hidden message to me. …God, who’s side are you on, Cheryl?

  He grabbed her face and held her forcibly.

  “Answer me, Cheryl? Do you want the first cut? You want to make me happy, right? Well, this is what I want. I want you to pick a spot on her body and make her bleed.”

  “Just one spot? I can’t cut more than one?” she questioned, as Roberto’s eyes lit up as if he just won the lottery. He was beyond insane. He gazed into her eyes and evilly smiled at her.

  “I knew it. I knew you would perfectly fit with me from the very first moment I laid eyes on you. I kept thinking, why you would want to be with my weak brother when you could have been with a real man like me? Then he fucked you up when he knocked you up with his bastard kid. I wanted to kill him then for that, but I waited for the perfect time. He should have married you and told my father the truth about you and the baby, but he had you name some nobody as the kid’s father to save face. That’s what I don’t get, Cheryl? Why did he do that? He was the prince of the family, right? So why did he hide you? Oh, so many questions but no answers, because I killed the fucker and the poor sap you named as the baby daddy. Hey! Cutting a break line was easier than blowing up a car, right, bitch?”

  He looked back at me and laughed again. He was so twisted in his mind. I had to get out of here. It felt like hours, but in reality it was the longest thirty minutes of my life.

  “So the clock is ticking, baby. Are you going to do the honors? Or shall I?”

  Cheryl said to him, “It would be my pleasure, Roberto. You’re absolutely right about this one. She’s a cold hearted bitch, always has been the way she struts around the office as if she was a Steele herself. I want to take my time with her. Will you give me that?”

  I couldn’t be sure what side Cheryl was playing on, but watching Roberto get excited over her words was scaring the hell out of me. I was defenseless against the two of them because I was in this chair. Maybe this was her way of giving me a fighting chance. If she distracted him enough, I could try to get free.

  He then pulled out a shiny silver blade from his coat pocket and handed it to Cheryl. It looked big and heavy. She took it with ease as he licked her face and then kissed her hard, smearing her lipstick. If she truly was playing a part, then she did it quite well. He looked pleased with himself and grabbed the Scotch and sat down on the couch to watch.

  She slowly stalked over to me and leaned in to my ear. I could see Roberto gulping the liquor and wiping his mouth. She seductively caressed my face and then stroked my hair and wrapped my pony tail around her wrist. She yanked on my hair and pulled me closer to her. Roberto yelled out and began rubbing his hand over his dick. The sick bastard was actually getting off on Cheryl touching me. He was so lost in the way he was looking at her, he didn’t see her cut my ties and free my hands.

  “Can you stand?” she whispered. My eyes told her yes.

  “Okay, when I give you the signal, you need to strike, Tenley. You will only get one chance, okay? One chance, or we both die.”

  I nodded my head, and she handed me the knife. The intricate edges that lined the blade were sharp and would have the power to easily rip through his skin. She looked at me again and told me she was ready. I was ready. If I was going to die by his hands, I would go out fighting to the end.

  For a second, my mind went to Jamie. If I died here today, I would be seeing my brother again, but I wasn’t ready to leave Jagger. We had an amazing future waiting for us to begin. I wasn’t going to allow Roberto to rob me of my life with the man I love.

  I promised Jagger I would not run again and would stay this time. I knew I had to fight with every last fiber in my soul to make it out of here alive.

  Please, Jamie, watch over me. I prayed silently as Cheryl gave me the signal.

  “You bitch!” she screamed at me as she slapped me across my face.

  “What the fuck!” Roberto screamed back. “What are you playing at Cheryl?”

  He tucked himself back into his jeans and walked over to us.

  “I was just having a little fun with her, you said I could baby, and then she bit me! The bitch bit me,” Cheryl said to Roberto.

  “I guess she didn’t like how you tasted. Step aside and allow me to show you how it’s done.”

  Cheryl did what she was told and our eyes locked. She mouthed “now,” and I knew what I had to do. I didn’t have a second to think.

  My memory jumped back to when my father and brother taught me how to fire a gun. My father always instructed me to envision the target, feel the distance between your weapon and then strike when the moment was right. Okay, daddy, I’m taking my shot...

  “Bitch, where’d you put the knife I gave you?”

  Please God! Let me be mightier than the sword. Jamie, give me strength…

  Roberto looked so confident, as if he had won and now would finish me off.

  Hell No! I am no one’s victim. I am a gladiator. I will win, and he will lose. With all my strength and courage…

  I strike!

  I PACED TENLEY’S office, anxiously staring back at the clock. She promised she wouldn’t be long, and it had been nearly an hour. It woul
dn’t be difficult to find Raymond’s office and go and find her. I was about to leave when Jacob came rushing in through her office.

  “Tenley! Tenley, where are you?” he screamed for her.

  “What’s going on man? What’s happened?” I asked him.

  “Where is she? Where is Tenley?” He barely could catch his breath.

  “She’s not here. She left about an hour ago to meet with her boss.”

  “And you didn’t go with her?” he shouted back at me. “She’s in danger. I just got all the reports on Cheryl Lockwood. She is Roberto’s girlfriend, and her daughter is a Bornarelli, but Roberto is not the father. She was with his brother first. Now it makes complete sense. Tenley was right not to trust her, because Cheryl was a plant here to get closer to her. She was playing both sides, but really her loyalties lied with Roberto. The girl went off the grid earlier today and has not been seen since. Once I pieced it all together, I had her daughter placed into protective custody along with Cheryl’s mother in one of our safe houses. This has been one revelation after another. Your girl was right all along.”

  “Do you know where Roberto is right now?” I asked with panic in my voice.

  “He’s either on the run or making his way here.”

  “What if he already is?” I asked Jacob, who didn’t waste another second.

  We both took the stairs to Raymond’s office. My gut was telling me that my girl needed me. I was just praying that we reached her in time.

  He radioed for back-up, and I swear his men reached the top floor before we did. They were all in position, waiting on Jacob’s command. He reached for his gun and counted down. I thought my heart was going to stop beating. He raised his hand to his team.

  “1… 2…. 3…. GO!”

  Jacob led the team and crashed through Raymond’s door. We came upon a bloodied scene, and my world went dark.

  Two women and two men were all on the floor. The older man, Raymond Steele, was unconscious and next to the couch, while the other guy was lying in a pool of blood.

  My eyes found hers, and I fell to my knees not knowing if she was alive or dead. Agents were shouting over their microphones and calling for medical assistance. Jacob was securing the room and identified the dead man as Roberto Bornarelli.