Resist Me

by Samantha Lee

  Antony laughed then frowned. The pain from his wound was manageable but sharp movements and laughing hurt like a son of a bitch.

  “So you two aren’t seeing each other?” Antony wanted to know but he didn’t need to know the exact relationship between Donato and Yvette. He suspected if she were to say yes, he would be upset, not because of the connection but because he wanted Yvette for himself.

  Yvette shook her head, “We were never seeing each other. We went on one miserable date, that is it.”

  Antony looked at Yvette, he could see she was barely holding on, she had scrapes on her face and hands. She had Band-Aids on her palms, he felt bad for her. “Things have been hard for you?” Antony asked.

  Yvette didn’t answer him right away but he wanted to hear her answer so he waited. “Yes,” she said. “Yes it has and the fault of that is yours alone. You put me in danger pushing me into your dark world, and now look,” she said waving her hand between them, “you’re excited about bringing me into your darkness without any concern for me.” Antony watched her pull her lip into her mouth to hide the quiver. “Do you know what your father did to me? He told Sal to kill me. Sal, the obedient piece of shit put a gun to my face with the intent to do so. I have never seen a gun before except on TV, much less seen my own death ordered in front of me.” Yvette was losing control, “Do you know what kind of psychological shit I am dealing with right now? Do you fucking know!” Antony shook his head a little embarrassed at his father’s behavior. Antony wanted to pull her to him but he couldn’t, his IV’s and the way he was propped on his bed didn’t allow it. “I am sorry for what my father did. He has been known to overreact at times.”

  Yvette waved a hand, “Enough, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Why am I here and not at work, if I am being forced to work for you, let’s get to work.”

  Antony felt his body go rigid. The tone of her voice didn’t sit well with him. “Listen to me closely Yvette, you may not fully understand what you have learned about me and my Family but let me assure you the one who sits in front of you is the worst man you could meet. I will not allow anyone to hurt you, I will protect you, no matter the cost. Your life is not in danger because nobody fucks with what is mine. Yes, you will have Sal around but it isn’t because I don’t trust you. It is because I want to protect you and while I am laid up in this fucking hospital Sal will do it in my stead.” Antony paused, he might as well get it all out, “And you will be mine even if that means you have to come into my darkness, I don’t really give a fuck, I want you and I intend on having you by any means necessary. The only thing stopping us is your futile resistance and that shit will go next.” He looked into her eyes so she could see the truth in what he said. “Do you understand me?” Yvette nodded, “Good, now let’s review what you have found.” Antony pulled up the USB drive and located the file Sal named use this one and all of Yvette’s attachments appeared.

  Yvette sat overwhelmed by Antony’s speech, she knew he meant every word and would do all he said, he would protect her but could he go against his father to do so? Yvette didn’t want to know the answer to that question, at least not right now. Nobody ever wanted to protect her, nobody ever said they would, her heart fluttered, she never knew what that meant until now. She wanted to cover herself in this feeling. She pulled her chair closer to Antony’s bed and focused on the documents, but his passionate promise echoed in her mind, I will not allow anyone to hurt you. Yvette stuttered over her first attempt at speech, then righted herself, “If you look here, you can see when the deposits and debits began to create a variance in the company’s budget. I found some evidence that this had been going on for years, I did a number of analysis’ and the conclusion is the same, the funds are all unstructually balanced once you clear out the inflated numbers.” Antony shut his laptop hard, “Goddamn it!”

  Yvette looked at Antony and saw his raw intensity, the predator that lurked beneath the surface, just far enough to fool everyone but not far enough to completely hide. How she missed it before she would never know. Antony’s eyes were hard as ice and his features stern. Gone was the soft smile, welcoming body language, and easy demeanor. The man in front of her was hard and deadly. Unintentionally, she put space between them by sitting back in her chair.

  Antony sighed when Yvette moved away from him, “Don’t shrink away from me Yvette. I told you I would protect you, and I meant it. I will not hurt you. Ever. Yes, I am upset but that has nothing to do with you, I am upset about the situation. Just...give me a minute to calm down.” Antony closed his eyes, he inhaled and exhaled a few times. When his eyes opened, he knew the anger from moments before was no longer visible in his features. It was still there but he was able to hide it better.

  Yvette sat up straight in the chair. “I am not used to the violence you all wear like a badge of honor. I don’t know what is coming or what will happen to me. Being afraid in this kind of situation is normal, not being afraid is abnormal.” Yvette said.

  Antony nodded and nobody spoke for a few minutes.

  Yvette decided she could try to find out how she could start her self-defense classes without tipping Antony off, “How long is Sal going to be following me around?” she asked Antony.

  “Until I say otherwise.” He answered.

  “And I still can’t quit,” Yvette asked. Antony laughed at her, “That’s a no sweetheart.”

  “Don’t call me sweetheart.” Yvette said.

  “Darling?” he said with laughter in his eyes, “Buttercup?” his voice went low and seductive, “ Or would you like baby?”

  Her insides quivered. He was a walking contradiction, beautiful on the outside and lethal on the inside. But Yvette had to admit as far as contradictions were concerned he was a good-looking one. She couldn’t deny the sexual attraction, but she wouldn’t act on it.

  “Where do you need to go that Sal can’t follow.” Antony asked.

  Yvette swallowed, how embarrassing, she would have to tell Antony what she wanted to do, and he would laugh at her. But right now she was helpless and she couldn’t stay that way. If she had to go through the storm to get to dry land then damn it she was ready to do it. She pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin, “I want to take self-defense classes.” Yvette stared him straight in the eyes. She was surprised to see that he wasn’t laughing or making fun of her. He looked contemplative.

  “You don’t need to do the-” Yvette cut him off, “the hell I don’t. You just said I don’t have any backbone. You and your boys have been bullying me for the last three days and there’s no telling how much of this, I will have to go through before you let me go…if you let me go. I will not sit here and continue the act of damsel in distress. I don’t want to. I am going and you will need to resign yourself to that fact.” Yvette finished her speech, her chest was moving up and down rapidly. Antony admired the sight of her ample breasts for a moment. “I will teach you myself.” She laughed and Antony was not amused. He didn’t always go around offering his services to train people. This was a once and a lifetime type deal but she wouldn’t know that. She didn’t know in some circles people begged for him to take them under his wing the way he was willing to do for her.

  Yvette sucked in a breath, “Are you serious?” she asked Antony.

  “Yes, if you really want the training, I can provide it.” He said.

  “I don’t want you to do it. You can’t be both my captor and my savior.” Yvette said.

  “I am not your captor, nor am I your savior, I am not exactly sure what word I would use for our situation, but not either one of those.” The door to his room opened with a bang. “Antony can you get up?” Sal asked. His hair was disheveled and his face red from exertion. Yvette looked over at Antony and he was reaching under his bed. He pulled out a gun, cocked it, and nodded to Sal. Sal pulled the USB from the laptop, and ran with them to the sink. He ran water over the USB plug, and laptop, then dropped them and stomped on it, for good measure, Yvette thought.

  “S
al what the hell is going on?” Yvette asked. Antony answered, “In times like this we don’t talk, we move, so start fucking moving.”

  Sal grabbed a bag of clothes and put it over his shoulder. Antony ripped the IV out of his arm and rolled off the bed. He stood and walked to Yvette. “Get behind me Yvette,” he said and moved to stand in front of her. He nodded at Sal and Sal opened the door, he looked out and came back in, “We are clear on the left, go to the stairs.” Sal looked at Antony’s wound. Antony waved him off, “I’ll deal with it later.” Sal drew his gun up, and moved into the hallway. Antony grabbed Yvette’s hand and pulled her behind him.

  Antony whispered, “Stay against the wall, bullets don’t stop until they hit something.”

  “What! Who’s shooting at us?” Yvette’s body shook wildly. Her legs felt like jello and she was breathing fast. She felt like she was moving under water. Everything was moving too slowly, when she needed to move fast and swiftly. Sal kicked the door to the stairs open, they ran down the stairs. Yvette tripped down a few stairs almost pulling Antony down with her. Antony pulled her up and kept her moving.

  They reached the third floor and they heard rapid fire, Yvette screamed. Antony’s hand covered her mouth before she could finish. He pushed her against the wall, she slid to the floor, crying and sobbing in fear. Antony put his gun in the waistband of his hospital pants, his hand still covered her mouth. He moved in close to her. “Yvette, if you scream like that again we are all dead. Do you understand?” Yvette nodded. Antony removed his hand from her mouth, and moved it to the side of his stomach. His wound was bleeding freely. The three of them stood in the hallway silent, waiting for the shots to die down.

  This was a hospital not a battleground. Yvette wanted to cry at the injustice the innocent suffered being caught in the middle of whatever the fuck was going on between Antony’s Family, and whoever was trying hard to kill him. Yvette held in her sobs, she was trying so hard to hang on while her world crumbled around her. Every moment she spent with Antony Carbonaro was turning into a nightmare.

  “I need you to get up Yvette, NOW!” Antony whispered through clenched teeth. Yvette got up but her legs would not support her. She stumbled a little more before strength returned to her legs and she could hold herself upright. Sal came over to help. “No, I have her, you need to find a way out…one that includes me staying alive.” Sal grinned and nodded. What the fuck was so funny? Yvette thought. Did they do this shit every day? She thought she said to herself but when Antony answered, “Not every day more like every now and then,” she realized she spoke out loud. Antony gave her one of his charming smiles. Crazy bastard.

  Sal opened the door, Yvette felt Antony’s hand squeeze hers. She knew he was silently pleading with her to remain silent. It wasn’t as if Yvette intended on getting everyone killed, but what was she supposed to do when she was in the middle of a gunfight, with no gun and no skill. “Trust me.” Antony whispered in her ear, “I will get you out of here alive.” They heard two shots fired in close proximity then Sal was back.

  “I cleared the hall for us. We should be able to get out from here.”

  “And go where?” Yvette asked, “You don’t think they will have men outside?”

  “If they did…they don’t anymore.” Sal turned to Antony, “The boss called in everyone to get you out.”

  “Let’s do this before I pass out.” Antony removed his hand from his wound. He was covered in blood which also saturated his shirt. Sal nodded his agreement.

  They moved as silently as possible, they ran past a few dead bodies. It was the smell that Yvette wasn’t expecting. In the movies, it seemed like a man was shot then fell and died peacefully, but death wasn’t like that. The smell of death was pungent, an indescribable odor, the blood wasn’t bright red, it was dark almost black, as it oozed out of the victims wounds. Yvette gagged and Antony pulled her closer. “Damn it, I am sorry. Hold it in we are almost there. Close your eyes and don’t let go of my hand, you don’t need to see this.”

  The front glass doors were all shattered, they had to walk carefully to avoid getting shards stuck in their feet. They stepped through the glass door, they were immediately greeted by Pio’s men. They shielded Antony who pulled her into the tight group and hustled them into the car.

  The door closed and the driver pulled a classic T.J. Hooker move over the hood and jumped into the driver’s seat. In seconds, two cars in front of them pulled out and they followed close behind those two. Yvette looked out the rear view mirror and saw two more cars behind them. Sal turned around from the passenger seat, “How is he?” he asked her. She looked over at Antony, he was out cold. Sweat beaded his brows that were drawn tight in pain. Yvette didn’t think that was a good sign. “I don’t think he is doing well, he needs a doctor.”

  “We will have one meet us at the safe house. Keep him alive until then.”

  “Just how the hell am I going to do that?”

  “Listen closely, Antony cannot die or their will be bloodshed like you haven’t seen since the gangsters in the twenties. So you need to figure something out.”

  The space in the car was tight, she couldn’t move around to get a better angle. She settled for straddling his thighs. In any other moment, the scene would look and feel highly erotic, but not right now. Right now, she was trying to prevent some sort of mafia war and save herself. Yvette put her hand over the wound and held it tightly. What the hell was she doing right now? How had life gotten so messed up so quickly? She would have never guessed Antony was involved in a world of violence when they first met.

  Chapter Eleven

  Donato paced the floor in the bedroom of his upper Manhattan flat. He clutched his phone in his hand and waited to hear from Sandra. He gave the order to eliminate Antony hours ago. Donato nervously ran his hands through his hair. He may have been too hasty with his order. If the men failed, then he wouldn’t be safe, the Carbonaro’s would come after him, and his father’s hands would be tied. He jumped when the phone vibrated in his hands. He looked down and saw his sister’s name come on screen, he picked up the phone. “Is he dead?” His stomach turned with nervous energy as he paced the floor.

  “Brother, Antony escaped.”

  “What do you mean he got away? God what have I done?” he sank down on his bed and put his face in his hands.

  “It gets worse, someone told father you ordered the hit, he is in a dangerous rage.”

  “I ordered the hit because you suggested it, you told me it would work. This is your fault!” his voice escalated with each word.

  “Listen Donato, you need to keep your mouth shut. I will take care of you when you get out, but if you don’t keep your mouth shut…then we will have a problem. You know I am not just your sister, I am also Lady Death, not to say that death would come after you, but what’s to say it won’t?”

  “What do you mean Sandra? Are you threatening me?”

  “I am not threatening you. I am warning you. You have about five minutes before the police will arrive at your house. You will need to go with them and take the fall for what happened with Antony. If you want to stay alive you will keep you mouth shut and take the charges. The Family will take care of you inside, and when you get out we will be here. Do you understand?”

  Donato understood fine, he understood Sandra had set him up and he walked straight into it, but he didn’t have to sit and take it. He hung up on Sandra and rushed to his closet. He would run until he could come up with a plan to get himself out of this mess. He would figure out what to do and return. When he returned he would give Sandra what she deserved, a slow death.

  He picked up a shoe barely noticing if it was the match to the one he had on. He put the shoe on, his body shook with fear. He feared getting caught and going to prison. He turned around, his hands were shaking, he walked deeper into the closet, and frantically punched in the code to his safe. He opened it and pulled out the contents. He needed to put the money and passports in a bag. He searched his closet, he thre
w aside empty shoe boxes, and kicked piles of new clothes until he found his gym bag. He snatched it up and began loading it up. He could make it for at least six months on the cash he had. He threw the bag over his shoulder and ran out of his bedroom, down the stairs and into the kitchen. He pulled his keys out of the small jar where he kept them on the counter, and dashed for the front door. He was in the foyer, his hand was on the door knob. The anticipation of being so close to securing his freedom was nearly tangible. He just needed to get to his car.

  Before he could turn the door knob, he heard. “Police, open up.” His hand dropped in defeat. Donato’s fate was sealed, he wouldn’t escape, he would be arrested, and found guilty for whatever charges he was told to plead to. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach as he twisted the door knob, and welcomed his fate.

  “Get on the ground!” Guns were pointed at his face. He turned around with shaking hands, and sank to his knees placing his hands behind his head. He was going to prison for the Family’s sake, the press’s sake, his sister’s sake and everybody else in this situation that needed a fall guy, because he was now that guy.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Is he breathing?” Sal kept asking Yvette every five minutes. “Damn it if he wasn’t I would tell you.” Yvette snapped back. Her hands and clothes were soaked in Antony’s blood, the blood looked different than the dying men she saw earlier. Antony’s blood was bright red. It wasn’t the same as the dark, almost black blood she saw coming out of the dead men. She assured herself this was a good sign. She kept pressure on the wound. “How much further do we have to go before we get to wherever you are trying to go?” Yvette asked.

  “About fifteen minutes.” Sal said.