by Measha Stone
“You were drugged?”
“I was there early, I ordered a drink. A new waitress brought it over. I should have probably realized Brian wouldn’t have a new waitress working tonight.”
“She probably had blonde hair and a big rack.” John shot him an annoyed look.
Chris grimaced. Pretty girls would always be his downfall. “Well, what’s the plan now?”
The door opened, letting in the chill from the night air.
“Good, you assholes are up,” a deep voice said. The bright overhead light cast a shadow over him, not letting John see who he was. “Stand up.” He tapped John’s foot with the barrel end of a shotgun.
John shuffled to his feet, using the wall as leverage.
“Let’s go.” He stepped out of the doorway and gestured with his gun to get moving.
“Your voice sounds familiar, who are you?” John asked, walking past him and moving toward the big house in front of him.
“Maybe he’s a friend of yours?” Chris teased, picking up his speed to walk beside John.
“Jimmy! You’re Julie’s little boy toy.” John snapped his fingers, which had no real effect considering his wrists were bound behind him.
The barrel of the gun dug into his back, shoving him forward. “I’m no one’s boy toy.”
“Yeah, you’re the one who wanted to meet with her. You set this all up?” John stood at the back door waiting for his captor to open it.
“I warned her. I gave her a warning so she wouldn’t go, but she showed up anyway.”
“The drink orders.” John nodded. “Trying to play both teams doesn’t work in this game. What if your boss finds out?”
He lifted the shotgun and pointed it at Chris. “Let’s hope he doesn’t.”
“Yes, let’s hope,” Chris said, giving John a side glance.
John entered the house and walked where Jimmy told them. They were brought to the living room. Julie sat in an armchair with her purse in her lap, and Tommy stood at the fireplace, holding a drink in his hand like he was about to entertain for the fucking evening.
“Good. Everyone’s here.”
Julie’s face paled when their gazes met. She didn’t look harmed, no bruises or cuts.
“How’d you get her here?” Chris asked. A logical question considering he’d left four of his people at the club to protect her.
“She came with me willingly. None of your people were hurt.” Tommy took a sip of his drink. John could use a stiff drink himself. Maybe later.
“You went with him?” John asked.
She nodded. “My mother’s here. He said he had you.”
“Where is Marie?” John turned the question to Tommy.
“Jimmy. Go get her.” Tommy put his drink down on the mantel and moved to stand behind Julie. “Thank you for watching over my daughter these past few days, but it was really not needed. I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I was trying to get her to do the right thing and put her statement in with the police.”
John exchanged a look with Chris.
“And you thought sending thugs with a gun was the best way to do that?” John asked, focusing on Tommy. If he looked at Julie, saw any sort of vulnerability or fear in her eyes, he may lose focus.
“I wouldn’t have, no, but your commander told me how protective you can be. So, I figured better safe than sorry. Although, from what the guys I sent up to the cabin tell me, she’s just as fierce.” He patted Julie’s shoulder. “You ruined one of my cars with your sharpshooting, and broke one of my guys’ arms. Maybe you’re more like your father than I thought.”
“He’s twisting everything. Saying horrible things about my mother, about me,” Julie said to John.
“Just ignore him for right now,” John instructed. “We’ll talk to your mom.”
“Tommy. It’s true, you found her.” A woman, dressed as elegantly as anyone with the right amount of money could, entered the living room. She gave no interest in John or Chris. As though she just expected there to be bound men standing in her living room.
“Mom?” Julie stood from the armchair. Tears built in her eyes, her hands trembled as she grappled with the strap of her purse. Marie walked through the living room, her three-inch heels not making a sound on the Amritsar rug.
“Julie.” Marie stopped just out of reach from Julie and folded her hands in front of her. Her dark hair sat in twists and curls on top of her head. The beige silk jumpsuit she wore showed off how thin she’d become over the years of drug use and neglect.
“You’re sober,” Julie said, astonished. “And,” she looked her up and down, “Mom, what’s going on? I don’t understand.”
“And you don’t listen. I told you when you moved out not to worry about me, to let me go. I told you to just leave it be. But you never could do what you were told.” Marie turned to John, taking a long look at him.
“You just disappeared,” Julie said, barely above a whisper.
“And you just kept looking and look at the fucking mess you made.”
“Marie.” Tommy’s voice held a warning.
“Well, she did. If she hadn’t tracked my name down to that stupid apartment she wouldn’t have been there when those idiots blew up the kitchen. But she was there. And instead of just giving a damn statement you could have fixed, she goes and runs off with this guy.” She looked over at John again. “Though I can kind of understand why.” She winked.
John’s stomach turned.
“Mom. Wait. I don’t understand. You always told me you didn’t know who my father was. That it was just a guy from some party.” She nodded toward Tommy. “If he’s my father, why wouldn’t you tell me? He said you still kept in contact?”
John could hear the desperation in her voice. Whatever Tommy had told her about her past wasn’t going to be pretty to face. He wiggled his hands in his binds; he needed to get to her.
“Julie. You’ve always seen things that weren’t there. No matter how much I tried to push you away, the harder you came running at me. You had this delusion in your head that you and I were some team against the world. Tommy had a wife when I got pregnant with you. He couldn’t acknowledge you, but once you were born he didn’t want you gone either.”
“I don’t believe you. You just kept me because he wanted you to? He couldn’t acknowledge me but you just held onto me, like some trophy?” Julie gripped the purse harder, her knuckles turning white.
“As it happened, you were pretty easy to take care of. Kept some food in the fridge and when I stopped working you picked up a job to pay the rent.” Marie shrugged and looked over at Tommy. “I was supposed to be something different. I was supposed to be at his side, but when you came along it was harder.”
Julie lowered her gaze to the floor, her cheeks reddened. “But he said he paid for my babysitters.”
“Yeah, he did.” Marie shot Tommy a glance. “He didn’t want you hurt; you were his daughter after all. He was able to help with money, but then he got framed by that bitch of a wife and her family. And went to prison.”
“That’s when you put his name on my birth certificate?” Julie didn’t look at Tommy. She kept her eyes trained on her mother.
“I couldn’t chance something happening to him in prison and his ex taking all the fucking money he had saved up. That way if he was killed, I could collect.”
“So, a real loving relationship,” Chris huffed from the side of the living room.
“And with him not around to run the business, the Cardone family no longer backing him, you started using.” John filled in the blanks. Julie just kept staring at her mom; the only indication she was hearing the conversation was the fidgeting of her fingers on her purse.
“It was a rough patch, but it’s over.” Marie pushed her hair over her shoulder and straightened her posture.
Tommy huffed a laugh. “Well, once she makes the correct statement, then it’s over.”
“So, she makes the statement, and then you leave her alone?” Chris stepped forward. “You h
ave Grover in your pocket because of his brother, but there’s a new DA on your case. He’s not going to let the cook house go without an explanation, someone’s going to jail for it. And if they nail your guy, you could get nailed in the process, and back to prison you go.”
“He won’t go back. Julie will do the right thing here and make that statement.” Marie turned a cold stare on her daughter. “Right? You’ll do what’s right.”
Julie’s brow wrinkled.
“You want me to give a false statement. Because making no statement doesn’t clear your guy, why not just kill him?” Julie asked, a chill running through her words. Like she was working now on autopilot.
“Because that would make Tommy look guilty. I told you she was too goody two-shoes for this.” Marie turned her glare on Tommy.
Julie started laughing. A soft giggle at first then a loud chesty laugh.
“I can’t believe this. All of this was so you could get me to give a false fucking statement, and then what? Disappear? Or did you want to play house now? Make a real family out of us? Mommy dearest here and my crime boss daddy?”
Marie’s face reddened, Tommy’s eyes narrowed.
John took a step, keeping his eyes trained on Julie. She began to unzip her purse. She’d reached her breaking point, he couldn’t stand idle anymore.
“Mom, if you didn’t want me, you should have just let me go. Given me up. But, yeah, you had a check from the state coming to you—not that I saw much of it, right? Daddy here, he gave you some money for me, I bet. If he was making sure I had a babysitter, I’m sure he was making sure I was taken care of at least a little. Why? Because one day I might be useful?”
Tommy stepped away from the fireplace, between Julie and Marie.
“I’ll give a fucking statement to the cops. I’ll say it was some blonde-haired white-collar asshole who got his fingers blown off, not your guy. But I want something in return. I want you to leave me alone. Don’t contact me. Keep staying out of my life.”
John twisted his wrists, the rope cutting into his flesh. His blood dampened the rope, but he pushed and pulled with more vigor as Julie reached into her purse.
“And I want Jimmy kept away from me too. You put him on my radar, right, Daddy? You wanted to keep tabs on me?”
Tommy swallowed. “He was supposed to befriend you, not fuck you.”
“Oh, he never fucked me.” Julie pulled her pistol from her purse and pointed it at Tommy. “Your guards will shoot me if I hit you, I know that. But I’m willing to risk it. Unbind John and Chris and let us leave. No one follows us and you call off all your hound dogs. I’ll make the statement in the morning and then you forget I existed.”
“Wait, Julie. Now that I’ve met you, seen how much like me, how smart and fiery you are… you could work with me. We could really make something of the business.”
Marie fisted her hands at her sides.
“I doubt my mother would like that, and I’m pretty sure John wouldn’t. Would you, John?”
“Julie, put the fucking gun down,” John responded. He’d waited until she brought her attention to him, not wanting her take her attention off of her father.
“See, he’s really bossy.” Julie smiled, a dark twist of her lips. She was slipping somewhere far away from him. She’d finally hit that place where all of the truth, the reality of her mother’s neglect finally became her reality.
“Julie. You’ll have what you want. You can go. Your friends can go. We’ll never bother you again,” her mother said, putting her hands out.
“Marie, shut the fuck up,” Tommy said, shoving her out of the way and standing in front of Julie. “Forget her.”
“Forget her?” Julie laughed. “I’ve been obsessed with finding her. With making sure she was safe. Figuring out how to clean her up and keep her straight once I got her home.” Julie yelled the last sentence.
“And now she’ll be safe. She was always good at selling to higher end clients. She can do that for us. And she’s good with the whores on the streets. Gives them little samples and pulls them in as clients. We’ll run the show and she’ll be our good little worker bee. Just like before.”
“The solicitation arrests,” Chris said. “She was dealing, not prostituting. That’s why you bailed her out.”
“Tommy, you can’t just cut me out,” Marie screamed, running up to him and shoving at his chest.
“Marie, you’re just as delusional as you say your daughter is.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “You were a great lay, an awesome dealer, and entertaining as hell. But you and I were never going to be more than what we are. Julie can do more than you, she can help take over this business. She’s my family.”
“You asshole!” Marie slapped Tommy across the face.
Julie stumbled back as the two began to struggle with each other.
“Julie!” John called her, his hands almost free from the binds. “Get over here,” he ordered. Finally, his right hand slipped through and he rushed forward, grabbing Julie backward.
“Fucking cunt.” Tommy wiped his nose as a trickle of blood appeared. He shoved her down to the floor and pulled out his own Glock from his suit.
“No!” Julie lunged forward just as he pulled the trigger.
John held tight, pulling her back to his chest and holding her. A flash of light and the booming sound of the bullet.
“Mom!” Julie wiggled free, dropping her gun to the floor and scrambling to her mom.
But it was too late. Marie lay on the floor, one clean shot to her chest. Right through her black heart.
“Now you’ll stay with me,” Tommy said, raising his gun and aiming at John.
A shot rang out, filling the room with noise. Tommy stumbled back, his chest covered in blood, his eyes already vacant as he fell over the couch and rolled to the floor.
John turned around. Chris looked as surprised as John felt.
Jimmy walked into the room, coming out from behind a door John hadn’t noticed, his shotgun in hand. He stood over Tommy and kicked him with his toe.
John went to Julie. She clung to her mother’s hand. Tears rolled down her cheeks; hard, heart-wrenching sobs broke free from her. He wrapped his arms around her, held her.
“Maybe you weren’t playing both teams,” Chris said to Jimmy. His hands were unbound.
“Get her out of here. She can give whatever statement she wants, or not. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
Julie looked up at Jimmy. “He was going to kill John.”
“Yeah. And this guy here too. Tommy flies off the handle. That’s how he fucks up. Now go. All of you. This will get cleaned up and it never happened.”
John pulled Julie from her mother’s side and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to cry as he carried her from the room. From the house, and back into the darkness.
She’d set out to find her mom, but in the end, she lost even more.
And he’d been powerless to stop it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Her mother died. She had been shot. Killed. Right in front of her, and Julie hadn’t stopped it. Hadn’t saved her. She’d let it happen. She’d been so caught up in her own feelings, the betrayal, the pain, she didn’t see Tommy’s intent.
“Julie, c’mon, we have to go inside.” John’s soft voice penetrated the murky cloud filling her mind. He helped pull her from his car and lifted her into his arms.
She could walk. She should get out of his embrace and stand on her own feet.
John brought her inside a dark apartment, his apartment. He left the lights off and brought her to his bedroom, sat her on the edge of the bed and helped peel off her clothes.
“She’s dead,” she muttered, tears slipping down her face. The resolve she’d had before that kept her from crying, kept her from feeling the true terror and sadness finally broke.
“It’s not your fault, Julie.” John laid her down and pulled the thick, soft comforter up to her chin. “I want you to sleep, just r
elax, okay?” He sat next to her, brushing her hair from her face and petting her.
“She hated me.” New tears burned on the edges of her lids. “I’m so stupid,” she whispered, blinking and letting the droplets fall. No longer caring about being strong, holding it together.
“No.” John caged her face with his big hands. “No, you aren’t. You were a kid looking for the love of her mother. Nothing about what happened then or now is on you. None of it.” He sounded so angry, so burly.
Pulling away from him, she snuggled into the pillows.
“If my own mother couldn’t love me, why would anyone else?” She rolled to her side, away from him. He brought too much comfort with his touch. She didn’t deserve it.
He sighed, a heavy sound. “Try to get some rest.”
The bed bounced when he got up. The door clicked behind him, signaling she was alone. She’d better get used to it. Alone is what she’d be from now on.
Through the silence of the night, footsteps kept her awake. John paced the hallway and opened the door, letting in a thin beam of light before closing it again. She wanted sleep, to drift off into the darkness and forget everything that happened. Forget how horrible everything was, but it never came.
The sharp pain in her chest finally ebbed to something closer to a throb. At times strong enough to knock her breath away, others soft enough just to remind her she was still among the living.
John never came to bed. The sunlight began to shine through the blinds and she finally gave up on sleep. Throwing back the covers, she found her clothes. He’d folded them so neatly, so primly and placed them on the dresser. Everything in his room looked the same. Everything had its place, everything neatly tucked away. No mess. No chaos.
That was her department.
She pulled on her clothes and slipped into her shoes, forgetting socks. She found him asleep on the couch in the living room sitting up, his clothes wrinkled, his lips parted, and his arm bent behind his head. Maybe he hadn’t meant to stay away; maybe he’d fallen asleep while he made sure she slept.
She found her purse and a sweat jacket near the front door. Picking them both up, she glanced back at him. Would he lose his job over her? Because of her mother?