by Hamel, B. B.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I have to be.” He pulled away from the curb and began to drive back.
I nodded a bit and I thought I understood. This plan dangled by a thread, and if he showed even a moment of hesitation or weakness, it could all break down and come unraveled. He held it together through sheer willpower and nothing more.
I had to admit, I admired that about him. Even in the face of almost foolish odds, he still had a smile on his face, and a confidence that I truly envied.
20
Ren
The next week was one of the most boring of my entire life.
It should’ve been exciting. Our future hung in the balance, and a single misstep would’ve sent us careening off the edge into failure. Except for the most part, we spent it waiting around in some damp, dingy warehouse, shuttling back and forth from there and the mansion. At night I was so tired I ended up passing out on the couch, and in the morning Dante’s men would bang on the door at absurd hours and send us both packing off to the warehouse to wait around some more.
“Why does he keep making us come here?” Amber asked, pacing back and forth on top of a catwalk that overlooked the main storage room.
I lounged back against the wall, drinking awful coffee and trying not to fall asleep. “Punishment, I think.”
“Come on. At this point, it’s sick. I shouldn’t be anywhere near this place.”
“You’re not wrong, but Dante’s got an interesting idea of what’s right and wrong.”
“It’s been a week of coming here. Every day, we sit around, stare at the boxes down there, and do nothing.”
“I know.”
“And we have to just keep doing that?”
“Pretty much.”
She let out a frustrated grunt and threw herself down next to me. The whole catwalk shook and groaned, but we’d figured out already that it was as safe as anything else in this shithole of a building.
From the outside, it looked condemned. I figured that was on purpose though. The doors and windows were all locked and barred and controlled by a central processing unit. It was all pretty advanced stuff actually, but made to look as low-tech as possible. Clearly the Leone family wanted their precious stash house to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood, and it did a good job at that. We were deep in South Philly across the street from a U-Haul and next to a deli, and the smell of cooking meats drifted up through the windows sometimes.
I put my arm over her shoulders and pulled her tight against me. Even though we were exhausted and bored and annoyed, at least I was spending time with her. I had to admit, I probably would’ve murdered most people at this point, but I still wanted to be around Amber, which was a minor miracle. She didn’t seem sick of me, either, and for the most part we passed the time by chatting idly and making jokes and talking about where we wanted to go if we ever escaped this hell.
Around midday, footsteps echoed through the place as Dante climbed the rickety staircase. He paused at the top and looked over at us, huddled up there in the corner away from the rest of his goons. The building was dripping in muscle, guys with guns hidden in corners, behind boxes, basically anywhere they could. He stared at us for a long moment before he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Having fun?” he asked.
“Lots of fun,” I said. “We’ve been having a blast.”
“Good.” He came closer, holding onto the railing. “I want you to do an overnight tonight.”
Amber groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He glanced at her. “I’m not, not at all.”
“What the hell is this all about?” She climbed to her feet. “When Ren told you about this plan, nobody thought we’d be forced to stick around here and wait.”
“Oh, so you figured I’d have my guys do that?”
“That’s what you pay them for,” she said.
I put a hand on her leg. “Easy.”
She glared at me. “You go easy. I’m so tired, and all I do is sit up here and do nothing all day. How can you be so calm?”
I tugged at her leg and gave her a hard look. “Amber. Sit back down.”
For a second, her rage flared, but she managed to collect herself. She shot another look at Dante then stormed off, down a side set of steps that led back into an abandoned office section of the building.
Dante chuckled. “She’s not happy with me.”
“Can you blame her?”
“I guess not.” He tilted his head. “You know why you’re here, right?”
“I get it. I don’t like it, though.”
“You’re insurance, Ren. If you’ve tried to fuck me, I want you here, in harm’s way in case shit goes down.”
“Like I said, I get it.” I stared at him and clambered up to my feet, stretching my back. “You don’t have to make her stick around though.”
“She’s part of the policy.” He gestured at me. “Frankly, I thought the Dusters would’ve hit this place by now.”
“I thought so too,” I admitted. As the days passed, I was getting more and more worried that Felix hadn’t bought my little performance, and he wasn’t going to check this place out at all. Or maybe, even worse, he had some guys take a look, and they spotted all of Dante’s extra muscle.
I couldn’t let myself go down that road. Speculating was bad enough, but negative speculation only made me anxious, and I couldn’t afford to get knocked off my game.
“Lucky for you, we got a tip that they’re planning something big tonight.”
“Hence the overnight.” I nodded slowly. “What’s your source?”
“My source is, fuck you and don’t ask questions. I want you here tonight, but for now, you can go back to the mansion and get some sleep if you need it.”
I chuckled and ran a hand through my dirty hair. “A shower and some sleep. That’s all I need.”
“I’m sure Amber will be thrilled.” He frowned at me for a second then shook his head. “If this goes to shit, you’re falling on the sword. You get that, right?”
“I get it. I’ll take the blame so you can skate on by.”
“Damn right you will.” Dante turned. “Car’s waiting out front. Go get your girl.”
He walked off, leaving me alone up there. I looked out over the warehouse, at the stacked crates filled with illicit drugs, guns, booze, bootleg electronics, and a ton of other shit I could only imagine, then turned and walked down the steps to the offices. I found Amber standing near a window, looking out at the surrounding block with a glum look on her face.
“Something’s going down tonight,” I said.
She looked back at me. “You’re sure about that?”
“Dante thinks so. He said we can head back and rest up.”
“God, I could use a shower.”
I laughed. “That’s what I said.” I walked over and hugged her close against me. She tilted her chin up and I kissed her. “Whatever happens tonight, I want you to stay away from it. You hear me?”
“I’ll try.”
“I’m serious. We’re Dante’s insurance policy, but that doesn’t mean you have to get killed so he can cover his ass. Promise me you’ll stay away.”
“I promise.”
“Good.” I kissed her. “Now come on. Let’s shower together and fuck until we pass out.”
“Ren.” She grinned and hit my arm.
But she let me hold her hand and she didn’t say no.
* * *
Several hours and one very soapy session of filthy hot sex later, I found myself standing back up on that catwalk in fresh clothes, feeling only slightly invigorated from several hours of sleep. Amber hung on my arm and I kiss her ear before we retreated back into the shadows near the wall.
“What’s going to happen, when they show?” she asked, keeping her voice as soft as she could.
“Well, a lot of yelling,” I said. “I’m not sure what’ll happen after that. Maybe some shooting.”
She grimaced. �
�Shooting. Right.”
I hugged her against me. “I promise you’ll be okay. Plug your ears and try not to listen when it goes down.”
“Hard to actually do that, you know.”
“I know.” I kissed her neck, then her chin, then bit her lower lip. “Trust that I’ll get your through this.”
“I trust you.”
“That’s my girl.”
The evening, for the most part, was extremely boring. That was how these things went: lots of waiting, lots of exhausting nothing, until boom, something all at once. I caught sight of Dante’s boys roaming the warehouse floor down below, not speaking, guns at the ready, and I felt their twitchy nervousness infecting the whole place.
It happened a few minutes past two. Amber leaned on my shoulder, half-asleep, and I tried not to move so that she could get some rest. I figured only one of us had to suffer. Her breathing got rhythmic and deep, and I was tempted to brush some hair from her face, but left it alone. I heard a noise in the back office area, but figured it was one of Dante’s guys rooting around.
But one noise led to another. Voices drifted from inside, and I heard a beeping, following by a harsh, guttural laugh. I felt a surge of adrenaline as I nudged Amber.
She sucked in a breath and looked around. “What? Huh? Sorry, did I fall asleep?”
I put my finger to my lips the nodded my head back toward the office. She frowned at me then understanding bloomed on her face.
I stood up and took her hand. She followed me, and together we crept over the catwalk. I tried to catch the attention of someone down below, but the guys didn’t look up, and I couldn’t risk making more noise.
More voices drifted in from the office. I couldn’t believe none of them heard it, but the acoustics in that place were weird as hell. We made it halfway across before a man I didn’t recognize stepped out onto the staircase back where we’d been sitting a minute before. He was tall and broad with dark clothes and held a small rifle in his hands like it was no big deal. I tugged Amber along faster, trying to reach the other end of the catwalk before the guy could spot us.
“Hey,” he growled, stepping up toward us. “Who the fuck—”
I pulled Amber along as fast as I could, sprinting all out. The game was up, and the guy raised his rifle to start firing.
“Wait,” a voice shouted from behind him. “Is that fucking Ren?”
Felix’s voice. I grunted in surprise as we reached the far staircase. I started down, with Amber right on my heels. Felix pushed past his guy and started after me, and all hell broke loose.
One of Dante’s guys down below opened fire. I didn’t know who, and if I ever figured it out, I’d kick the fucker in the teeth for it. Felix’s guy fired back, shooting wildly down into the boxes and shit below. Felix yelled something and kept running, covering his head as he moved down the exposed catwalk. More guys spilled out from the back office, firing down into the warehouse floor, and I pulled Ambeer behind me as she started screaming. I felt her panic go wild, and I knew she needed to get out of here before things got worse.
We reached the landing below, half a story above the floor. I pushed her in through a door that led into a loading bay then ducked around the corner myself. More firing and shouting, and I looked around, then pulled back as a bullet nearly smashed into my face. I peeked again and saw Felix’s guys falling back, but Felix himself coming down the stairs at breakneck speed. He’d been too far along when the shooting started, and the only safe option for him had been forward.
I knew I had one shot. If Felix got down here, he’d have an easy escape through one of the side doors. Dante’s boys were too busy shooting like idiots up at nothing, and they weren’t paying any attention to the only person that mattered in the whole goddamn place. I readied myself as Felix hit the bottom and came toward where I was hiding, moving like a freight train.
I steadied myself them slammed my forearm into his throat. I hit him perfectly and he gagged as his legs kept moving forward while his upper body slammed to a halt. He went vertical, hanging in the air for half a second, before smashing down to the concrete floor. His head bounced off the stone and he groaned in shock.
I knelt down on his chest and ripped a gun from his hand. I tossed it aside and checked him for more weapons, finding none, then rolled him onto his stomach and bent his arms up behind his back. He groaned and barely resisted, too dazed to do much more than bleed.
“Over here!” I yelled, then looked over my shoulder. Amber was okay: she sat huddled in the corner, hands over her head, freaked out but unharmed. “Fucking morons, stop shooting and someone come over here!”
The firing slowly stopped and one of Dante’s thugs lumbered over, looking annoyed. “We’ve got to go after them,” he said, sounding like a damn bridge troll.
“You’ve got to take this man to see Dante,” I said, moving my knee back. I lifted Felix’s face up by the hair. “This is the leader of the Dusters.”
The thug gave me a blank look until understanding slowly dawned. He turned and ran off, gathered the rest of the herd, and soon the idiots had Felix firmly in their grasp, tied up, smacked around a bit, and carted off.
I walked over to Amber and knelt next to her. “It’s okay,” I said, voice soft. “It’s okay. It’s okay, I swear, it’s over.”
Slowly she brought her hands down and blinked at me. “Was that really Felix?” she asked in a strangled voice.
“Really him,” I confirmed. “Dumb bastard came here himself.”
“Oh, god.” She sobbed once. “It’s over then, right?”
“For now,” I said, and pulled her against me.
I held her tight and let her cry. She earned it. Maybe things weren’t perfect, and we weren’t going to be able to walk away from this like nothing had happened, but Felix was in custody, and Dante would have something to show for my plan. That mattered, and now maybe they’d even turn the war in their favor.
I felt hopeful for the first time in a while as I held her tight and kissed her and told her everything would be okay.
21
Amber
It happened fast after that. I didn’t see what they did to Felix, but I heard the screams back in the mansion. They didn’t go easy on the guy, and I almost felt sorry for him.
Ren took care of me. He brought me back up to my room and took another shower with me, this time being gentle as he washed my back, kissed my neck, promised I’d be safe. I believed him, even if I should’ve felt like being around these men for a single second longer would cost my life.
I trusted him. He’d saved me twice now, and he’d keep on saving me.
We slept together in my bed that night, his arms wrapped around my body. I tumbled into the blankets and sheets, buried in the pillows, and felt his warmth, his strong arms. It was exactly what I needed, and the night passed with no dreams, no nightmares. In the morning, he was still there, still beautiful.
I got up, dressed, and went to find Mona. I wanted to find out what was going on, and if maybe we were finally safe. The only thing I wanted in the world was to leave Philadelphia, get far away from Chicago, and go somewhere safe, somewhere I could start over with Ren by my side.
But instead of Mona, I found Vincent.
He sat with his feet up on an ottoman in one of the side sitting rooms. His face was drawn and pale, and I saw him in profile as he swiped at something on his phone. For one wild second, I thought I could pull back and leave without him noticing, but he looked up and met my eyes, and he smiled.
“Hello, Amber,” he said. “Good timing. I was just thinking about you.”
I didn’t know what to do. The last thing I wanted was to talk to this man. “I didn’t know you were back,” I said.
“Discharged a couple hours ago. It’s nice to be home.”
I smiled the best I could. “I’m sure Mona’s happy.”
He adjusted himself to face me better. “Come inside. Talk to me.”
I hesitated, but stepped into the room.
It was painted a muted brown shade and a tiki bar covered one far wall. There was a couch and a large projection screen, and there was a vague beach and island theme going on that made me slightly uncomfortable.
“Mona’s none of your concern.” The edge in his tone made the small hairs on my neck stand on end. I wanted to say something sharp back but couldn’t find a good enough line. “Sit down.”
“I’d rather stand.”
He grunted. “I don’t care what you’d rather do.”
We stared each other down for a few seconds before I gave in and walked over. I flopped down into a chair and glowered at him. I felt like a little girl getting scolded, and I hated myself a little bit for sitting there and taking it—but I had to admit that I was afraid of Vincent, and I didn’t want to mess things up for Ren’s plan by pissing him off.
“What do you want?” I asked finally.
“You’re going home.”
Those words sent off a complicated chain reaction in my head. At first, I felt elated: I was getting what I wanted. I hated Philadelphia and hated being stuck out here without my family or my friends or any support at all. But then I stopped and thought about what that meant, and I felt dread slowly replace the excitement.
“My father wants me back?”
“Your father has no say in this shit,” he barked. “You were a pain in my ass to begin with and you’re still a pain in my ass, but at least now I can spare a couple guys to escort you back to Chicago.”
“I don’t understand.” I felt hollow and was afraid I’d tip the chair back over and tumble onto the floor.
“The war’s pretty much over. We have Felix, thanks to you and Ren, and now it’s time for you to get the fuck out of my hair.”
“But things are still hot back home, aren’t they?”
“Not my problem. I took you on thinking you’d be easy, but you’ve been nothing but a pain.”
I stood up suddenly. “You can’t do this.”