Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance

by Ashley Stewart

  “No problem.” Carson looked like he’d just been given the best Christmas present of his entire life. A smile curled on the edge of his lips.

  “This stuff is cool,” he said.

  “Yeah right.” He had a lot to learn about the real world, and specifically the underworld, but I didn’t want to be his teacher anymore. Because whether I wanted to accept it or not he was right. I did need his help.

  Chapter 7

  We pulled up to a large wrought iron gate bordered by two brick columns. Behind it was a long stretch of land with a big plantation style house on it. It figured that he would choose the biggest house in Wilmington. It also made it a little harder to sneak up on him since there was so much land between the entrance to the house and where I was standing. I wasn’t worried though, I’ve done this kind of thing before.

  “Here, take this,” Carson said.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It’s an earpiece so we can communicate with each other,” he said.

  He adjusted the dial on a mechanism and then spoke into the microphone, “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, very much so,” I said.

  “Okay, you let me know when you’re coming out and I’ll start the engine and have it running,” he said.

  “Sounds good. And no matter what happens, stay in the car,” I reminded him. He gave me a disappointed look, but nodded his head.

  I stepped back and looked at the fence to see how long it ran down on each side. It wasn’t that it was tall, but there were spikes at the top of each iron post. One wrong move and I was going to need some serious medicine.

  I studied the fence and decided that the best way to attack this thing would be a slow approach. I grabbed the fence posts with my hands, lifted my body, and hurled myself over to the other side. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but I didn’t want my overconfidence to lead me to making a mistake. I was going to have to come back over that with Cierra. I needed to be extra careful. That was unless I found a different way to come out.

  There was a small tree line midway between the fence and the plantation house, and I ran across to it to find the best way to approach the house. I decided to take a minute and watch what was going on. I noticed that there were several men wearing sunglasses patrolling the exterior of the place. Security guards from what I could tell. Most likely hired guns not his better men that he would usually use. He probably hired them locally.

  The house was huge. It was two stories high with three columns reaching from top to bottom on the front porch. It was a traditional old-style plantation house, very beautiful but very big. Cierra could be anywhere in one of those rooms, and I was going to have to find her.

  But first I would have to get past the security guards. If my hunch was correct and they were just hired hands they wouldn’t have much firearms training, on that level, I had them beat. However, I couldn’t compensate for hand-to-hand combat. They had other weapons, which are far more effective if used correctly. I wasn’t sure if they knew how to use those either, but I had to be careful. Just in case they did.

  I hunched down and ran closer, using a tree to hide myself so that I could get a better view of the front. There was a long driveway that led right up to a circular drive in front of the house. Flowers lined both sides of the road and pooled in a circular motion, outlining the driveway.

  I saw two guards standing in front of the house, one on each of the corners. I decided to approach one from behind. I moved around to the back and snuck up to the side of the house. Quietly I walked up behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck, and pulled him back out of view from the other guy, before breaking his neck. He fell to the ground on top of me, which was what I wanted him to do, because it muffled the sound. After crawling out from underneath him, I searched him for his weapon. Now armed I could worry about the other guy.

  Except, the other guy saw me first. He pulled out his weapon pointed it in my direction and fired a shot. I ducked back behind the side of the house before it hit me. I looked back to see him running toward me and yelling something is as he held his ear. I aimed my weapon at him, and carefully squeezed the trigger. The shot hit him in his chest, throwing him on his ass. His blue button-down shirt was stained with growing puddle of blood that oozed out of him.

  No doubt by this time everybody that was in the house heard the shots, and I saw more guards coming outside with their guns drawn. I picked them off one by one, remembering the technique of the sniper, to hold my breath before each shot, so as not to move my weapon off target. The accuracy with which I shot these guys was remarkable, even to me. All of these years of being a hitman has fine-tuned my skills. I was a good shot.

  It was something I wanted to be proud of, like winning the trophy back in school for being the best athletes, but I couldn’t. I knew it was morally wrong and yet the temptation of the old me felt all these feelings of accomplishment for taking the lives of others. It was confusing. I had done this so long that it felt like who I was. Even though I didn’t want to be this person anymore. I was still proud of being able to do my job well.

  I walked up on the dead bodies that littered the front yard, remarking to myself how easy it was. Maybe was too easy. Maybe Gino knew I was coming. If he didn’t before, now he did. I ran up the stairs of the front porch and opened the door walking inside with my gun drawn. In front of me were two staircases that circled up to a central focal point on the second floor. In the center of that focal point stood Gino his hand around Cierra’s neck and a gun pointed at her head.

  “Are you okay?” Carson asked in my earpiece.

  “Yeah,” I said quietly.

  “I heard shots fired. What’s happening?”

  “Tell you later. Kinda busy right now.”

  I engaged Gino in a staring contest. He used Cierra’s body to cover himself. What a coward he was. I never lowered my weapon. That’s the worst thing you can do in a standoff.

  “What a nice surprise,” Gino said.

  Cierra stood there breathing heavy, tears rolling down her face. She was wearing the same dress she had on this morning at the market. Her hair was tangled and out of place. Had she eaten? In that instant I felt guilty for bringing her into all this. I knew she was terrified both for herself and her child. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her right now. It wasn’t her fault. She witnessed a murder, and it wasn’t her fault that she was here now. It was mine.

  If I had never become a hitman, none of this would have happened. I know there are other contract killers out there, but there would be one less. One less doing the dirty work for this family. It’s not something I’ve ever been proud of, necessarily, but now for the first time, I finally realized the impact that I had on a lot of people. Not just the victims themselves, but their families and friends. The ripple effect that my actions have created over the years could be astronomical. This time it’s happening to someone I love.

  The look of terror in her eyes hurt me more than anything else. Something I could have prevented that she had to experience, now when she shouldn’t have to. My guilt turned to anger as I focused it on Gino. He was a spoiled rich kid who lived on his father’s coattails to get respect. Nobody dared to cross him, knowing how ruthless his father was, and how much he enjoyed taking revenge on people who crossed him. Only now his father is dead. He couldn’t hide behind him any longer. It was time for him to answer for his crimes. And while I still have to answer for mine, I was determined that today wasn’t that day. Judgment had to come to Gino first, and then I would take whatever consequences I had to deal with.

  My eyes narrowed and I looked at him, speaking with a deep tone in my voice.

  “Nothing about this is going to end nice for you, asshole,” I said.

  “I would be careful talking to me like that if I were you,” Gino said. “Many men have tried and all have died.”

  “Hey asshole, I’m not here to talk to you. Let her go and let’s settle this between us.”

  I ke
pt his head in my sites the entire time. There was nobody I wanted to kill more right now than him. He had screwed up by terrorizing Cierra and holding her hostage. He was definitely going to pay for that. Even if he took me out with him.

  “You know I can’t do that,” Gino said.

  “Then I guess we are at an impasse,” I replied.

  “Not quite,” Gino said. “I have something you want.”

  He grabbed Cierra by the back of the hair pulled on it until she screamed. Hearing her so scared like that made my heart drop into my stomach. I seriously felt ill. I wanted to throw up right there but I couldn’t. I had to maintain my objectivity of the situation and pretend that she was any other person. I couldn’t let my heart get in the middle of the situation or we would both definitely die.

  Gino’s face suddenly lightened, the corners of his mouth turned upward into a smile.

  “What are you laughing at?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he said. “It’s just amazing how in the blink of an eye everything can turn around. Don’t you agree? The tide can turn in one second.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, or why he was going on and on about this. I started to question his mental faculties when I noticed his eyes flickered off of me for second and to a spot behind me. As I turned around I briefly saw a man behind me with his gun, followed by a cracking feeling of pain in my head, and then everything turned black.

  Chapter 8

  I brushed my fingers through her soft hair. Her smooth skin grazed my arm as I kissed her neck. She was so beautiful and so innocent. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I carried her to the bed. Our bodies intertwined and I did not know where I stopped and she began.

  Being with her made me feel safe. My own personal safe house that I could run to at any time and always feel secure. In a life of pain and stress, she was my peace. I hoped that I gave her the same feeling and that together we could save each other.

  We rolled around on the bed and as I covered her body with my own, I inserted myself into the hot folds that were wet and waiting for me. She opened her legs to allow me greater access. The gentle sway of my hips ground into her pelvis and she moaned at the pleasure. She felt slick and so tight that I could hardly concentrate. I had to focus on not coming too early so that I could give her every last inch of myself until she quivered.

  She dug her nails into my back as her pleasure increased. I could tell she couldn’t gauge how hard she was digging because her moans became louder. I quickened my pace encouraging her to explode around me. She arched her back and her breasts pushed against my chest. I dipped my head down and took one of her breasts into my mouth. I licked and teased it until she could hardly stand it anymore and then did the same to the other breast.

  There was no more fear or worry for either of us. We were together, locked in this embrace forever. I had never been so happy in my entire life.

  She looked at me and smiled. Her beautiful teeth shining like porcelain and her face was serene. What was she thinking? I couldn’t read her mind, but her body seemed to say that she wanted more. I saw her mouth move and speak words but I could not hear them.

  I stopped to listen, but the louder she tried to talk the less I understood. Her face turned red as her expression changed. She looked terrified. It worried me and I looked around to see what was wrong. She began to fight me. I got off of her and tried to help her. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but the look of terror on her face stayed where it was. A look of confusion was on mine.

  What had happened? Had I hurt her? We were connected just seconds before and now she seemed to be afraid of me.

  I tried to console her but she wouldn’t let me near her. I tried to hold her and she pulled away.

  “No! No!” she screamed over and over again.

  My heart had been full and now it stopped with her fear. We were together one minute and the next I had become her worst nightmare.

  What did I do wrong?

  I awoke and the echoes of her screams followed me into consciousness. Panic consumed me and I tried to look around for Cierra. She was nowhere to be found. In fact, everything around me was unfamiliar. I was disoriented and genuinely scared.

  There was something wrong with my eyes. I couldn’t see straight. Everything was fuzzy and distorted. I tried to use my fingers to wipe them, but something stopped me. My hands couldn’t reach my face. It took me a minute to realize that I was restrained. I looked up to see fuzzy images of my wrists and shackles hanging from the ceiling. My head was pounding and I felt dizzy and disoriented.

  “Cierra?”

  I looked around for her. My vision, slowly sharpened. The walls were covered with subway tiles; I was in a small room with chains hanging from the ceiling. It was nasty and dirty and smelled of toilets.

  Fear was something I did not feel often. Usually, I was the one provoking fear in others, but this time I was the victim. A slow realization dawned on me as I remembered the last thing that happened before I blacked out. I was standing in front of Gino and he was holding Cierra.

  I could feel the pain all over my body. It felt like it was distributed almost evenly over every square inch. I lifted my head and looked around trying to find an exit and hopefully some kind of plan to get out of here. Waking up to being hung from the ceiling isn’t a good sign for a favorable ending. I pulled against the shackles.

  “Cierra!”

  I yelled her name over and over again, hoping that I would hear a response to it. Instead, what I saw was a man walking into the room. He had tattoos covering his arms, his hair was black. He wore a beard with a bit of gray in it. He didn’t look like somebody who had a wide vocabulary. I only needed one guess for who he was why he was there. Gino was known for having special men who possessed torture skills for his victims who wouldn’t cooperate. This is partially how he garnered his reputation as the most ruthless and cruel man in the Geremia crime family. My body tensed as I watched him. He did nothing but look at me. My heart jumped when I heard a scream in the other room. It was Cierra.

  “Who the hell are you?” I said. “You better let her go.”

  The man said nothing but moved around me. I watched him, sizing me up like a piece of meat hanging on a hook up in the air. One might make the mistake of thinking that there were only so many ways to torture person. These guys were the inventors of thousands of interesting and sadistic methods. Needless to say I was less than enthused to be one of their victims now.

  I glared at him, daring him to touch me. He picked up a long metal rod. At the end of it was an electrical charge. It was a cattle prod, and he was smiling as he held it.

  “Touch me with that and I will kill you,” I said.

  The man smiled, a great evil grin plastered on his face. He obviously enjoyed his job. I didn’t imagine there were too many other positions where torture could be listed on the resume or in demand. At least in the corporate world.

  He pointed the rod toward me and moved closer. My body began to shake uncontrollably in reaction to the fear of the pain that was inevitable. I tried to move away from him as much as I could but being chained up left little options for that. He poked the rod into my ribs and I screamed. The charge of the electric shock rattled my brain and I could feel my body swaying back and forth violently.

  When he removed the cattle prod, he smiled. I dangled there twitching and recovering from the pain. My teeth chattered involuntarily and I thought that I would crack several of them due to the force of my shaking. It felt like a million tiny electric shocks all over my body, joined together for one giant shock. I tried to do my best not to show it, but it was difficult. It hurts so badly, but I didn’t want to give him the benefit of watching my pain.

  “I know this hurts. No need to put on a brave face,” he said.

  I could hear Cierra in the other room screaming. That scared me more than my own pain. Was she being tortured also? Or was she screaming because I was? It was hard to tell, and if I had to pick one it I would’ve ho
ped it was the latter. I regret deeply that she was involved in all of this.

  My head dropped to my chest. I was exhausted. If this was the kind of vengeance Gino had for me, I should consider myself lucky. Usually it was much, much worse. My one piece of good luck.

  I focused on my torture. I started to say something, but he hit me again with the cattle prod. As I uncontrollably shook in agony, a burning feeling spread throughout my body. I could smell my own flesh burning and the stench made me want to vomit. Obviously, this was a potential consequence of going up against the Geremia family. Until now I had never experienced their wrath personally. I had seen other men draw the misfortune and been killed, but always managed to escape it myself.

  My body stiffened at the pain. I thought to escape it, but my chains held me in place. Screams escaped my lips. I couldn’t help it. Despite my attempts to be strong and quiet my body betrayed me, revealing how painful it was.

  He removed the prod from my skin once again and moved around me. I could tell he was looking for a fresh area on my body to apply it again. What a sadistic son of a bitch, I thought. It was anger that began building inside of me. I’d had all I could take. And despite the agony, I was going to get my revenge.

  I lunged at him with limited mobility. He just laughed at me which of course made me angrier. To him I was a low, wee piece of scum. His toy that he could bat around and torturer before killing. Nothing I did would make an impression on him. So it seemed.

  In a low tone I uttered out my threat. “I’m going to get out of here and I’m going to kill you first.”

  Chapter 9

  He was not amused. He punched me in the jaw. Blood spurted out of my mouth. Obviously, men like this in such a position have very little tolerance for humor. I could feel my mouth began to swell, and my jaw was slung to the right side and I tried to will the pain to stop. There was nothing I could do but take it. He grabbed my jaw and moved in closer.