“Who the hell’s behind this, G?” I bring my hand up to my face and run it over my eyes, not believing the shit I’ve put on Jeremy.
“Let’s see what the boys have to say.” G steps in front of me, Marko behind me and I’m in the middle. Like a protection detail. We enter the warehouse and head straight into the holding room where I’ve seen G do some of his finest work.
The steel encased room is cold, the air in here thick with a stale odour and the three boys stand shoulder to shoulder.
“Miss DeLuca why are we here?” Rocky steps forward and asks.
Marko produces his gun and with one shot has Rocky slumped to the ground.
“For answers,” I interject as I put my hand on Marko’s arm and lower the gun. Marko’s protecting me, but I need to know what’s happening.
“Now who will talk and who will die?” G looks at the two remaining, they both look at each other and back to me.
“Mam, I don’t understand,” Lance speaks up.
“Brave man, Lance, speaking up after seeing the bullet go into Rocky’s head,” I step over a lifeless Rocky and come to stand toe to toe with Lance. “Do you want to die, Lance? Or are you going to talk?”
“I don’t understand.” He down casts his eyes but his breath’s hitched and he’s shaking uncontrollably.
“Antonio’s dead,” Marko announces.
“Is it cause of what he’s doing? He tried to bring us in on it this morning, but me and Jason said no.” Lance states.
“And what exactly did he tell you?” I ask as I circle around them, ready to give the command to have these two killed if they say the wrong thing.
“He said he was working with someone to take you down and we had to choose which side we wanted, me and Lance would never do that to you, Miss DeLuca. We’re cousins and we got so much respect for you,” Jason finally speaks up.
“But Rocky?” I ask them both.
“We don’t know about him, Mam, Antonio just told us to include him in everything we do, so he’s only been with me and Jason today.” I look over at G and shake my head, no, I don’t want them taken out.
“You understand that if you’re fucking with me that I’ll have your kidneys removed while you’re awake and sold on the black market?”
“Yes, Mam.” They answer in unison.
“You two now report directly to me. Your orders come from either G or myself. I’m keeping you close because if I find out you’re playing me, your life won’t be worth living.”
“Yes, Mam.” They both answer together again.
“Clean the mess then come to my house. Marko give them the address.”
G and I walk outside and leave Marko to talk to the two boys.
“G, something’s dirty. Someone close by is watching and screwing with me.”
“Frankie, we gotta find The Senator or this is gonna get too messy and way too public.”
“I know.” We sit in the car and wait for Marko to come out, it’s only a matter of minutes before he slides into the driver’s seat.
“This isn’t right, G, we need to track his phone.”
“Fuck, Frank, I’m doing the best I can.”
All we can do is wait for the next message and instructions to come through for Jeremy. We don’t need to wait too long though. By the time we get back to the house, G has the laptop open and is ready to track when a blocked number rings through.
“What the fuck do you want?” I answer the call knowing it’s whoever’s taken Jeremy.
“Money.” A voice totally disguised by electronic manipulation answers.
“How much and where?”
“One hundred million.”
Fuck, one hundred million. Is this person for real? One hundred million for The Senator? My heart beats crazy and my entire body’s broken out into a sweat. It’s not like I don’t have the money, but one hundred million will certainly put a small dent in my ‘rainy day’ fund.
“No,” I answer and hang up quickly, essentially telling them where to go.
What the fuck did I do? I drop the phone and instantly my hands come to my face covering my eyes, I sink to the floor and know I’ve just signed Jeremy’s death warrant. Bile immediately flies into my mouth as my stomach contracts, thousands of knives feel like they’re stabbing into my chest. My fists ball up and I’m uncontrollably shaking. “What did I do, G?” A small whisper is sighed.
“You did what you had to, Frankie.” He answers with strength.
“I’ve killed him.”
“Most likely. Or……”
“Or what?” I look up at G who’s not moved from the desk as he’s searching his computer.
“Or they’ll call you back with a lower ransom.”
If they call me back with a lower ransom then I have them. I close my eyes and just try to calm down. I mean, Jeremy and I haven’t had the best start to a relationship but his tenacity with me is what drives me to want to spend time with him. I feel almost protective of him, like he belongs to me and I need to ensure no harm comes to him. He’s mine.
Getting up from the floor and sitting on the couch in my office, my heart starts to regulate its beating pattern and I almost feel a little better that G thinks they may call me back.
It’s then that my phone pings with an incoming message. These fuckers must be damn desperate, in less than a day, I’ve had photos, messages, a few seconds clip, phone calls and black roses. Fuck them, if they’re that desperate for money and they’re bombarding me with trying to get it, they aren’t fucking serious about this. Fuck them and their merry men, whoever the hell they are. They want money, they aren’t gonna get a single fucking cent out of me.
The message is another picture of Jeremy, he’s slumped in the chair and he looks even worse than he did before, if that’s even possible.
“G, I’m not going to give them any money, not going to give them a cent.”
“If you don’t pay them, Frankie, they’ll kill him.”
“I don’t care, I have to stand my ground I can’t let them attempt to defeat me,” I sigh out to G as I put my head in my hands. I know I’ve just signed Jeremy’s death warrant but I also know that’s what I need to do to continue with business.
“Frankie, for first time in your life you’ve found someone who’s challenging, someone who doesn’t take any of your shit, someone you actually care about. You need to get him back.”
“Don’t you understand, G? If I do this, I’ll be letting the flood gates open for every other fucker who wants a piece of me. I can’t risk that, as much as I like Jeremy I have to let him go.” A sense of sadness has overtaken me. My heart feels like it’s stopped beating; the burn I had in my body has now been extinguished. Jeremy’s gone and it’s because of me that a bullet’s in his brain.
I don’t hear back from whoever took him, so I can only assume Jeremy’s now been killed. The rest of the day’s spent wandering and hoping that Jeremy’s death was quick. Completely disinterested in all other matters and pre occupied with the imminent doom that Jeremy must have met, I can’t focus on anything at all except the fact that he’s likely in a shallow grave covered by no more than a few spade fulls of dirt and rocks. I’m spending the remaining hours of the day like a zombie, completely disentangled from human contact. G tries to make conversation but my ability to communicate is heavily clouded with regret and hopelessness. Sorrow and misery easily embodied in me, those feelings I’m sure are going to stay with me for a long time.
Night falls and I’ve not moved from my office, my phone clutched tightly in my hand in case the captors haven’t sent Jeremy to his death. That’s a pretty big ‘in case’, if it were me, Jeremy would be useless and I’d already have the boys cleaning up any evidence.
The hours tick by.
The moon stands tall and majestic as I cower away and question my choices.
As witching hour morphs from various shades of dark and light begins to peep through, I’m startled by my phone vibrating and ringing softly in my ha
nd. I look down and see a blocked number calling but I know that he’s dead and this is a last attempt to extract money from me. I look out over the estate and don’t bother answering the call. It’s a futile effort to reel me in, but the phone rings again. G’s been with me the entire time, he’s not left me, he’s not gone, he’s not said any more to me either, he’s simply allowed me to take the time to mourn a man who could have potentially been my perfect partner.
G’s tapping on the keyboard of his laptop and the phone continues to play the same tune. I flick my eyes over to G and he gives me a tiny nod of his head.
I take a deep breath and let my Frankie DeLuca, Mob Boss persona answer the phone.
“I’m not paying you a single fucking cent.”
“Frankie……” He says.
Jeremy!
Chapter 16
“Darling.” His voice sounds all gruff and scratchy.
“Where are you?” I breathe out a breath I didn’t realise was caught in my throat as I look at G.
“Hospital, they knocked me out and when I awoke I was in hospital.”
“Which hospital are you at?” I’m already running toward the front door as G’s calling Marko to bring the car around.
“I’m at Carney, Frankie, you don’t need to come. Mom will be here soon.”
“You called that woman?”
“She’s my mother, of course I called her.”
“Don’t say a fucking word to her until I get there, I’m on my way.”
“Frankie….”
“Don’t go against me on this, Jeremy. Just trust me, send her out of the room and tell her you’ve got tests to do, actually, tell her I’m on my way.”
“I’m pretty screwed up here and let me tell you, I got no idea what the hell you’re saying.”
“Just don’t talk to her, I’m on my way and I’ll explain everything,” I hang up as I reach the car and don’t give him any more chance to speak. Marko drives fairly quickly and we’re at the hospital within fifteen minutes. G’s next to me as we silently go to reception.
“Jeremy Miller,” G asks the pretty lady sitting behind the counter.
“Sorry, Sir, only family can see him.”
“I’m his wife,” I interject before G starts a war.
Wife, ha. How funny. The first thing I thought to say is I’m his wife and not his sister or his cousin or some other long lost relative.
“Oh I’m sorry, Mrs Miller.”
“DeLuca,” I interrupt again.
“What?” Asks the lady again, I mean how hard is it to get? DeLuca, not Miller.
“Anyway, where’s my husband?”
“He’s in emergency at the moment but the doctors are…”
“Which way to emergency?” G asks. She eyes G and returns her cautious stare to me. “I think I best call through and announce you’re here.” She picks up the phone and starts talking fairly quietly but still loud enough for me to hear. “I see,” she says as her eyes dart over to me. I lean over the counter and snatch the phone out of her hand. G stands close to me but turns his back, watching for any rent a cop that may have been silently buzzed here.
“Who am I talking to?” I command.
“I’m sorry, Mam but Mr Miller says he’s not married.”
“Tell him Frankie will finish the job those fuckers didn’t.” I hear the phone being covered up, probably by the person’s hand. Muffled voices talk for a second before the same male voice comes back to the phone.
“Come right through.”
I hand the phone back to the desk lady and wait for her to point us to Jeremy’s bed. When she hangs up, she straightens her back and smooths down her hospital scrubs. “Down the hall, corridor on the left, first set of swinging doors on the left, the second corridor on the right. Keep going until you see a nurse’s station.” She sits back down and looks away.
G and I make our way down the rabbit warren until we reach the unmanned nurse’s station. We don’t bother waiting for a nurse to show us where Jeremy is; instead G goes ahead and starts opening doors to every room, intruding on the privacy of the sick. I hear a whistle down the corridor and G gestures that he’s found Jeremy.
I start walking down there and I’m not sure what I’ll find behind the door. I don’t know how he’ll look or how damaged he actually is.
“Wait outside, G, no one comes in alright?” G nods his head and stands guard at the door. My heart’s racing and my palms are sweaty. I stand at the closed door and take a deep breath before I turn the handle to walk inside.
I step through and see a sight that causes my heart to shatter. Jeremy lying on the bed with a cannula in his arm, his head bandaged around the top, his leg in plaster. His face is a mess of bruises and cuts, he looks so shattered with his ravaged body. His eyes are closed but when I gasp at the sight before me, he opens his one good eye and tries to sit up a little.
“Don’t try to sit up.”
“Can I hold you, Darling?”
I walk over to the bed and sit on the edge of it. I look over his body and shake my head. He moves his one good arm so I can lie next to him, so I toe my shoes off and lay next to his beaten frame.
“What happened, Jeremy?”
He brings his arm around my shoulders and moves me so I’m flat with his body. I don’t fight him I just let him feel me. If this is what he needs, considering it’s because of me that he’s in this predicament, I’ll let him have the contact that he’s asking for.
“A little after you left, there was someone at the door and when I went to answer it, I was jabbed with some drug that instantly knocked me out. I woke up in a room, almost like a torture chamber and they kept their faces hidden.”
“Where was your security?” My voice comes out quite clipped and irritated.
Jeremy kisses my forehead and with his nose on my skin he takes a huge breath in, just inhaling my scent in.
“God I missed you.” He kisses me again and brings me even tighter against his body. My arm comes up and encircles his waist and I bring my leg up over the thigh of his good leg.
“Where was your security, Jeremy?” My tone’s a little calmer this time.
“I don’t have security, Frankie.” My eyes are closed as Jeremy runs his nose up my jaw towards my ear. “I really missed you,” he kisses me just behind my ear lobe. I let out a small moan as he takes my ear lobe in his mouth. His tongue flicks it as his teeth apply gentle pressure on it. But I snap my eyes open and pull away from him.
“What do you mean you don’t have security?” I just realised what he said.
“I’ve declined it before because I’ve never really wanted it or needed it.”
“What…” It’s at that moment the door flings open and Betsy tries to walk in but G easily restrains her.
“What’s going on, Frankie?” He’s let go of my arm and pushes me away a little.
“She’s not good people, Jeremy.”
“Oh, and I suppose you’re good people? I mean I was taken to be used as leverage against you, that’s not any indication that you’re good, matter of fact that’s a very significant show that you’re not good at all.” He’s quite defensive and angry.
“Fuck you, Senator.” I get up off the bed and put my shoes on. “Fuck you and that damn weak pathetic excuse of a mother who’s standing outside.”
“Leave her out of it. She’s done nothing to you?”
“Shut the hell up. Seeing as you don’t know what the fuck’s flying out of that mouth of yours, I’d be heeding my warnings right about now.” A stand with my hands on my hips.
“Who the hell do you think you are? She’s my mother and you’re…” He breaks off the sentence before he can say something that he may regret. But my Italian blood’s already bubbling over and beginning to make my thoughts not so controlled.
“I’m what, Jeremy? I’m a Mob Boss? I’m no good for you? I’m dangerous? Which one of those do you want to pick? Or is it all of them?” I walk around to the other side of the bed whe
re he can turn and see me with more ease. “Tell me what you think I am?”
Jeremy expels a huge breath and doesn’t say anything. He brings his one good hand up and runs it over his face then through his hair. A few minutes pass where I’m standing in a completely defensive stance and Jeremy lies back rubbing his eyes and his face.
“It’s just.” He stops and breathes a little more. “It’s just that they took me to get to you,” he whispers the last part of the sentence.
“Yes they did. But this is my life, Jeremy.”
“You know what scared me the most, Darling?” He looks up into my eyes and the only feeling I can clearly see from him is agony.
“What? Never seeing that hypocritical mother of yours again?”
“The thing that scared the shit out of me, is the fact they got to me so easily and I’m not involved in your lifestyle but you are, and at any stage you can just vanish. Someone can take you away from me and I wouldn’t have the knowledge or the resources to find you if that ever happened, and really that just makes my heart stop beating thinking that you could just disappear.”
What do I say to that?
“What?” Is all I can manage to whisper.
“I don’t give a shit about myself, the only thing I care about is you. You being taken from me or you walking away.”
“Jeremy, these instant feelings you have for me is bullshit, they don’t happen, not in the real world.”
“I like you, Frankie, a lot. I don’t love you though, not yet, but it won’t be long before those words are said. And I’m hoping that when I say them to you that you can look me in the eye and say them back, but I also know who you are and you certainly can’t love easily. So I’m willing to sacrifice for you again, even though I’m optimistic I’ll cling to any shred of hope you throw me.”
“Why the fuck put yourself through that? You’re a sexy man who has the world at his feet and you’re willing to risk all of that for a possibility with me. You know what? You’re right. I’m not good, I’ll never be good. I give orders that would give you nightmares. I can destroy anyone with a simple look. Do you understand that? I’m not good; I don’t have a tiny shred of good in me.” My shoulders slump down and for the first time since I can remember, I wish that I wasn’t Frankie DeLuca, Under Ground King Pin.
My Life for Yours Page 9