Starting Over (Starting Over 1

by Kathy O'Rourke

  I hand him the grocery list. “Believe it or not, there’s nothing nutritional to eat in this house. I need to make a supermarket run.”

  His presses his lips together and raises his eyebrows. “You want to go to the grocery store?” He shakes his head no. “Are you sure you don’t plan on running away? Leaving me?”

  “No, Papi, no. I’ll come back and fix you and your men a wonderful dinner. You have my word. But please, send men with me if you need to.”

  He stares at me for a minute, then yells out, “Adam, come to the kitchen.”

  Adam walks in the room. “Yeah, Boss.”

  “Shelley needs to go to the grocery store. I want you and two of your best men to take her and Tim. Take two cars, that way she can get as much stuff as she needs.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Adam looks at me. “We’ll meet you out front in five minutes.”

  I twist around and hug Marco. “Thank you for letting me feel useful. Is there anything special I can get for you from the store?”

  “I need disposable razors and I love hard candy, the sour kind.”

  I smirk as I add them to the list. “Okay, Sourpuss. I’ll be back as soon as we’re done, then I’ll cook for you and your men.”

  “Kiss me good-bye, Princesa.” The kiss starts out chaste, but he deepens it. He growls in my ear, “I know I got you in an unconventional way, but I thank God for you.”

  I keep up the sham. “I’m happy with you, too.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Hank

  It took me four days to pass their stupid loyalty test. Day one, I made an outside shower just like Shelley’s but that wasn’t enough to pass. Day two, I taught the men how to clean and maintain their weapons. That’s didn’t do it either. On day three, I went with Eddie to an electronics warehouse and set up solar panels and a generator, so they could run a coffeepot and a fridge. It was the fridge that did it. On day four, I presented Marco with a glass of his favorite scotch on the rocks. I finally passed and got my own room on the third floor.

  I still haven’t seen Shelley. Eddie told me Marco has her sequestered in his bedroom suite. He even brings her meals to her. He’s gonna need to let her out of there and allow her a bit of freedom before I can even start to plan an escape.

  My original plan was simple. Kill them all. But, now that I know most of them, there’s no way I can do it. They’re here because they were recruited, just like me, and stay because leaving isn’t an option. The only ones who deserve to die are Marco and his giant devil of a friend, Adam.

  Today, Eddie and I are going out on a recruiting run. He’s driving and I’m riding shotgun.

  “This is Ventura Boulevard, right?” I ask as we ride past block after block of unique store fronts.

  “Yeah.” Eddie says as he slows and looks down a cross street. “Ventura… the place rich people shopped.”

  “And ate.” I chuckle. There are restaurants on every block, too, everything from sushi to Ethiopian cuisine. My stomach growls remembering fresh food. “Must have been a great place to people watch before the virus hit.”

  “Sure was. Getting a parking place was always hell though.” He points at a place called The Sportsman’s Lodge. His voice cracks as he speaks, “My wife and I had our wedding reception in that place. It’s real nice inside.”

  This is the first time Eddie told me anything personal. “I didn’t know you were married? Is she…”

  He cuts me off. “Divorced, but she’s dead now. He pounds the steering wheel. “My son is dead, too.”

  “Sorry Eddie. I bet that was hard.”

  “The divorce was crappy. She wanted more out of life than I could give her. She took my boy and moved to Simi Valley.” He goes quiet and steps on the gas. A minute later, he continues. “After the virus hit, I went to check on them. They were both dead.” He takes a deep breath and slams his fist down on the steering wheel again. “Milo was only seven. Seeing him dead, bloated and covered with flies…,” He runs his hand through his hair. “it haunts my dreams. That sweet boy didn’t deserve to die.”

  “God, that’s fucked up.”

  “I wonder if there are any children left?”

  Boy, I want to tell him about Michael and Cindy, but I know I can’t. Instead I tell him, “There has to be. I hope we find some soon.”

  He shakes his head and sits up straighter. “Fuck, I don’t. Of course, I want there to be children alive, but I don’t want Marco and Adam to get their hands on them. I want them to have a better situation than we have.”

  Interesting answer. “How did you end up with Marco?”

  “I was driving back from Simi when they pulled me over. It was Adam and Marco’s brother, Jose. And just like you, I didn’t’ want to die so I went with them. Now, I’m stuck here.”

  “Stuck? Why don’t you just take off?”

  “Because we’re never sent out alone, always in twos. If one member of a team disappears, the other one will be shot. I can’t live with that.”

  “He’s done that? Killed his own men?”

  “Marco orders it but Adam pulls the trigger.”

  He looks around like he’s checking to see if the coast is clear. “Can I trust you?”

  “Yeah, you sure can, I have no allegiance to Marco. I only passed their damn loyalty test to get out of the box in the basement, not because I’m loyal.”

  He looks me in the eye. “I want to take off. You with me? We could go right now.”

  Shit, if only I could. Do I tell him the truth? No. I can’t, but I can tell him part of my plan. “Listen, I want out too, but I think we need to work together to free all the men. I think Tim is unhappy and Fat Boy looks miserable. The only one that looks totally on board is Thomas. I want to observe for a few days and figure out a plan.”

  “And the woman. We need to free her.” Eddie adds, “I feel guilty for capturing her. Knowing that bastard is using her day after day.”

  “Yeah.” My hands form fists at his remark. “We have to free the woman. We can’t leave her here with the subterranean sewer dwellers.”

  “Sewer dwellers?” His eyebrows raise.

  I laugh, “What can I say, I loved sci-fi movies. There was this old movie, ‘CHUD’ Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers with sewer dwelling creatures that would come up through manhole covers and eat people. They looked a lot like Adam.”

  Eddie laughs so hard he shakes the car seat, “He sure is an ugly thing, isn’t he?”

  I pat his shoulder. “I’ll make you a deal, we’ll give it a week, then if we can’t figure something out, we’ll take off the next time we ride together.”

  “Deal. Now since we aren’t gonna look for any people, let’s find some prize to take back to appease the Boss man.”

  We find a washboard and a set of cast iron pans in an antique store. We arrive back in time for dinner.

  Adam meets us at the door. “Any luck?”

  Eddie does the talking. “Nope. Didn’t see anybody. We did find an antique store and picked up a few things that will come in handy.” He hands him the washboard.

  “What the fuck is this?” Adam sneers.

  “It’s for washing clothes. You rub the cloth up and down over the board to loosen the dirt.”

  I step forward with the pans. “These are cast iron, they’ll work better on the camp stove then the pans Tim is currently using.”

  Adam grunts. “Tim’s not cooking anymore. Marco has his woman doing it.”

  My pulse quickens, and it takes everything I have not to show excitement at the news.

  “Take’em to the kitchen and hand’em to the bitch.” Adam says.

  Don’t have to ask me twice. “Happy to.”

  The house is filled with the smell of garlic, onion and spicy tomato sauce. I bet she’s making her chicken spaghetti; it’s one of her favorite recipes. I want to run and grab her, but that would only get me killed. Instead, I walk slowly, stopping in the living room and saying hello to the guys sitting around.


  Matthew, the youngest of the men, whines, “Just so you know, there’s no more smoking allowed in the house. We have to go out back from now on.”

  “Really? Why?” I act pissed off, but I already know it’s because of Shelley.

  “Marco’s girlfriend hates smoking.”

  I lean down and whisper in his ear. “Marco will do just about anything for his new pussy.”

  Matthew grunts, “Amen.”

  Enough talk. Time to go in the kitchen.

  Shelley, her back to me, is stirring a big pot by the door leading out to the backyard. She’s dressed in a blue sleeveless dress, white socks with red strips at the top and her hiking boots. I’m glad she doesn’t see me yet, it gives me a chance to catch my breath. She’s okay, thank God.

  Tim is standing next to her opening boxes of pasta.

  I take a step and the floor creaks under me. She turns and spots me. Her eyes flutter as her mouth starts to drop open. I wave my finger back and forth and shake my head no. She nods that she understands.

  “Shelley? That’s your name, right?”

  “Yes, why?” Her tone a high soprano, not her normal husky alto.

  “Eddie and I found these cast iron pans today.” I put them on the counter in between her and Tim. The action gets me close enough to brush against her. “They’ll work better on the cook stove then the pans you’re using.”

  “Adam asked me to bring them in to you.” I tell her with a smirk on my face.

  “Thank you. Cast iron. Perfect!” Her eyes shine as she presses her hand to her heart. “What’s your name?”

  Good, she understands what’s going on. “I’m Ben Rivers. I’m new. I’ve been here about a week.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ben.”

  Tim gives me a dirty look.

  Tim growls, “You better leave her alone. Marco will get pissed.”

  I wink at Shelley. “I’ll leave you alone to finish your work. Thanks for cooking for us.”

  She braves touching my hand as I walk by. “See you at dinner.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Shelley

  Hank’s here. Oh my God, how I managed to keep a straight face when he appeared in the kitchen is nothing short of a miracle. The problem will be keeping our secret, I don’t have a great poker face.

  Tim nudges my arm. “Listen, you better be careful and not let Marco see you flirt with that new guy.”

  Did I flirt? Shit, was I obvious? “What do you mean?”

  “Body language. The way you reacted to him gave you away. Your shoulders relaxed, your breathing quickened, your face brightened up, even your voice changed.”

  Damn it, I need to throw him off. I put on my Marco giggle, “Flirt? Did you get a look at him? He’s sexy; broad shoulders, handsome face, tall. Any red-blooded woman would react to a man like that.”

  Tim chuckles as I pretend to fan myself with a dish towel.

  He pats me on the shoulder, “Stop it, crazy girl.”

  “I didn’t consciously flirt with him.”

  “Just be careful, little lady. I don’t think Marco will do anything to you, but he wouldn’t think twice about shooting Mr. Sexy man.”

  He’s right, Marco is a possessive man, I better ignore Hank, I mean Ben. I’m sure he’ll understand why I’m snubbing him. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything bad happened to anyone because of me. Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep my distance.”

  The formal dining room has a huge table that seats the entire crew. I set it for dinner using the paper plates and plastic utensils I picked up at the store today. With no running water it’s too hard keeping real dishes clean. Marco, however, is an exception. I put a special place setting of the house’s fine china and a crystal wine glass at the head of the table just for him.

  Tim, carrying in bottles of water we cooled in the pool, nods at Marco’s fancy place setting. “Impressing the Boss?”

  “Trying to keep everyone alive is more like it.” I answer as I place a carefully folded cloth napkin on Marco’s plate.

  He’s just about to answer when we’re interrupted by the man himself. “Princesa, what’s that delicious smell?”

  I give him a huge Miss America smile. “Spaghetti.”

  He pulls me to him, kisses my neck and takes a dramatic sniff. “No, Princesa, it is you that smells delicious.”

  Tim, who is standing out of Marco’s line of sight, rolls his eyes.

  I give him my best school girl giggle. “Oh, Papi, you just be quiet. I don’t smell like garlic and tomatoes,” and playfully smack his arm.

  He whispers in my ear. “No, you don’t. But I bet you’re just as tasty.” Grabbing my arm, he tries to lead me out of the room. I can tell by the look in his eyes he wants number twenty-four.”

  This time I resist. “Papi, dinner’s almost ready. I need to be here to finish it.” Thinking I better soothe the horney beast, I put my hand on his chest and add a pout for good measure. “I promised you a nice dinner. If I go with you now, it will be ruined.”

  He laughs. “Very well. I can wait, but this dinner better be worth it.”

  “It will be, I promise.” Yeah, I won. I turn to Tim. “Can you get the guys down here. I’ll put the finishing touches on everything.”

  Tim gives me a thumbs-up and heads toward the stairs.

  “I’m gonna go finish, Papi.” I don’t wait for an answer and head back to the kitchen.

  As a surprise, I baked flat bread in the brick pizza oven on the back patio. Tim was excited and more than willing to help since they haven’t had bread in weeks. He built the fire in the oven and let me know when it was at the right temperature to bake my bread.

  We made chicken spaghetti. The base is bottled sauce that I add extra spices to, then stir in a couple of cans of chicken breast meat and parmesan cheese. It makes a nice thick sauce we’re serving over cooked ziti. With ten hungry men, I made tons.

  “Everyone’s here except Adam.” Tim tells me as he walks back in the room.

  “Good, but no Adam? Should we hold dinner?”

  “Marco said not to wait for him.”

  “Okay then. We’ll serve, starting with his royal highness.” I wink as I hand Tim the large pot of ziti and tongs. “Put ziti on their plates and I’ll follow behind with the sauce.”

  “Sounds right.” Tim says as he heads for the dining room.

  We walk in to a round of applause.

  Thomas whistles, and Fat Boy yells out, “Real food.”

  I quickly locate Hank. He’s sitting at the end of the table closest to the kitchen. I remind myself to ignore him, even though I want to rush into his arms.

  After everyone is served, Tim goes back for the bread and his own plate of food.

  “Aren’t you going to eat with us?” Matt calls out and braves a wink.

  “No. I’ll eat as I work, but first…” I make dramatic arm movements while opening the sideboard and pulling out a bottle of wine. Holding it up for everyone to see I announce, “Wine. For the boss.”

  Maybe this is a bit over the top, but I want to keep Marco off kilter.

  The table cheers as I walk over and present Marco the bottle.

  His eyes shine with all the attention. “Thank you, Princesa.” He runs his hand up and down my back as I open the bottle and pour him a glass of White Zinfandel.

  My hand on his shoulder, I whisper in his ear making sure my lips come on contact, “I’m not sure this wine goes with pasta, but I hope you like it.”

  After taking a sip, he smacks his lips. “It’s damn good.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  You’re trying to spoil me, aren’t you?” Marco adds with a grin.

  “Yes, Papi,” I place a kiss his cheek as I risk a peek at Hank. Hank’s lips are nothing but a thin line covering his teeth and his eyes are dark and brooding. He always does that with his mouth when he’s pissed off. He does know I’m only playing a part, right? Panic sets in. I need to find a way to reassure him. I know, I’ll writ
e him a note.

  Not wanting to get caught looking at Hank, I turn back to Marco and fain a sexy smile. “Excuse me, Papi, I need to do some things in the kitchen. Enjoy your dinner.”

  With another swat on my ass. Marco grunts, “Go,” and pushes me toward the door.

  I pass Tim as he carries in trays of warm bread and places them at both ends of the table.

  The room erupts in cheers.

  Thomas groans, “Bread. Oh my God, fresh bread.”

  Rushing to the kitchen, I grab a pad of paper and rip off a piece. What should I write? I need to be careful. Then, I remember Leo’s codes. I write: one plus two always. Shelley and Hank always. It’s perfect. If found, no one will know what it means. I fold the note until it’s high school tiny and stick it in my pocket.

  Now, I need to get it to him.

  Sticking my head in the dining room, I call out, “Anybody want more pasta?” Five hands go up, including Hank’s.

  Tim stands. “I’ll help.”

  I wave him back down. “No Tim, stay and enjoy your dinner. I’ve got this.”

  Grabbing some clean paper plates, I prepare five more servings of pasta and sauce and walk them in two at a time purposely leaving Hank for last. Now for the note! When I get to Hank’s place at the table, I lean in as I place his pasta down and drop the note in his lap. As I pull back, I watch his hand close around it.

  To cover, I walk back to Marco’s side. “Do you want more, Papi?”

  This time he pinches my ass. “No, I had plenty.”

  He looks out at the men and holds up his wine glass. “My woman is good at everything…” he adds a lust-filled growl, “and I do mean everything.”

  The men laugh wickedly, and Matt says in a salacious voice, “I bet she is, Boss.”

  Embarrassed, I back away and tell them, “I have dessert to prepare.”

  I walk in the kitchen just as Adam is stepping in the backdoor. The minute he sees me a sneer appears on his face.

  Well, I’ll show him. I hit him with a big smile. “I saved you dinner.” I hand him a large plastic bowl containing a double helping of spaghetti and two slices of bread I’d wrapped in aluminum foil. “It’s still warm.” I add a wink. “Enjoy.”