“I’m gonna finish you and then we’re all gonna take a turn on your pretty little woman.”
He spat on the ground and smiled showing his black teeth. He spun me around to watch me dangle. The cuffs around my wrists cut into me and began drawing blood. The pain from the electric shock, combined with my throbbing jaw and wrists, pissed me off. The more pain he inflicted on me, the more I used it as motivation to get out of here. He might have the upper hand now, but I was not going to die this way. I certainly wasn’t going to let Cierra die in the hands of these men. One way or another I was going to find a way to get us out of here.
I tried to use my feet to stand and relieve the pressure of my wrists, but my legs were fatigued. I did the best I could, trying to distribute my weight on the stronger leg.
“You’re not going to make it that far asshole,” I said.
He punched me again, this time on the opposite side, balancing out the swelling on my face. I was so beaten up, that I almost couldn’t feel any of it anymore. His voice became a slow whisper in the distance as my brain throbbed against my skull. I fought to remain conscious, thinking about all the ways I would like to end his life. I dug deep into all the vindictive malicious things I had ever wanted to do to people who wrong to me, and I came up with a list with his name on it.
I fought against the pain, turning my head side to side to keep my thoughts straight. I didn’t want to black out again.
“I’m not the one tied to the ceiling. Shouldn’t have crossed Mr. Geremia,” he said.
He hit me again with the cattle prod and left it on my skin. Pain seared through my side and I screamed, louder than I had before. This sucked. Still, I could think of worse ways to die. I’m sure they could too, and there was no guarantee that they didn’t have those methods waiting for me, after this little treat.
My muscles tensed up and remained paralyzed for the entire time he ran that electricity through me. I couldn’t move. All I could do was scream. Just when I thought I was going to die, he removed the cattle prod from my flesh and set it down. I heard someone from the other room calling for him. He turned and left me there.
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to take any more of that. I had to get my plan together and get out, now. I took his leaving then as a miracle and a chance to formulate my plan. There wasn’t’ a lot of time. I took several breaths in and out trying to stay calm. I gathered all the strength I could and looked around me for anything I could use.
It was then that I realized the sweat and blood mixed to form a lubricant around my wrists. As a result, it loosened the leather cuffs enough that I should be able to slip out of them. I started to remove the cuffs when I heard him coming back. I was anxious to kill the guy and get to Cierra. There was no telling what she had already been through. And part of me couldn’t even think about it. I could handle a lot of things, but her being harmed brought me to my knees. I pushed the thought out of my mind, and focused on the man in front of me.
I waited for him to come a little closer, gazing at him through my one good eye. I pretended to be unconscious, leaving my head slumped down in front and trying to peek out of the one good eye I had.
“What did Johnny say? Oh yeah, I’m baaack!” he taunted. “This time you won’t be able to wake up.”
He picked up the cattle prod and walked in my direction. He held it up and pointed it toward my face, which let me know that was the area he was going for next. I was growing impatient. All I needed was for him to move a few more steps closer. My hands held onto the chains attached to the cuffs. I steadied my breath.
“Get ready for some serious pain bitch!” he said.
I moved quickly and before he could react I supported my weight by holding on to the chains above my head and wrapping my legs around his neck. I squeezed until he gasped for air then I clenched down tighter until I heard his neck pop. He fell to the ground with a large thud.
I felt vindicated. I was satisfied with myself that I’d ended his life. It was no less than what he would have eventually done to me. There were no apologies given in this line of work, and none expected. Every man knew what he was getting into when he works for Gino, so it should have been no surprise to him that his life could have ended today. Maybe it was a little surprising that I was the one ending it as he certainly didn’t see that coming.
I pulled my hands out of the tight cuffs gritting my teeth to silence my pain. Even though it was loose, it was still tight enough that it hurt. I gave myself a second to recover before looking through his pockets for anything I might find useful.
“Not so tough now, are you?” I taunted his dead corpse and kicked it for good measure. I wish I could say that I had it in me to respect the dead, but honestly, when you screw with me, you deserve what you get.
I found a pistol in his waistband, tucked in behind his back. I took it out and put it in the back of my pants as I searched for anything else I might be able to use. In his left pocket were a set of keys. I didn’t know what they were for but I took them just in case. Maybe they were to the front door. Who knew? It was an opportunity to cover my bases and I took it.
I worked fast. I knew more of Gino’s men could come in here at any time, and I didn’t want to create a commotion. If they did come in here, it was unlikely I would be able to get out. Even with a gun.
I moved the man’s body to the back of the room out of the way so that it wasn’t as visible and I could open the door. I assumed that the other men in the house knew this guy was taking care of me, and so they opted not to bother him.
I snuck up to the side of the door and peeked my head out. I heard several men talking in the other room but no one was in the hall.
I wasn’t at all familiar with this place. I knew I was somewhere in Gino’s house, but unsure which part. It was a huge place that seemed to go on forever. As I looked around I thought I’d never find Cierra.
My heart pounded. I knew I was on borrowed time to find her before they found me.
I froze as two of the men walked past the door.
I pulled out the pistol and cocked it waiting for them to come inside. Fortunately, they walked past.
When I was sure the hall was clear, I quietly opened the door and walked out, careful not to make any noise.
I was good at keeping my cool under pressure but this was unnerving. It was more about Cierra than about me. I feared more for her safety than my own.
I said a silent prayer that if I could get us both out of this alive, I would turn my life over and be the man she deserved.
The hall led to stairs that went up. I determined that I must be in the basement. I didn’t think they had basements in the South but apparently this old plantation house did.
I moved up the stairs taking one step at a time.
Nervous that anyone could discover me at any minute, I stopped several times due to the sound of voices passing by the top of the stairs until I could no longer hear them.
When I got to the top of the stairs, I quietly exited the basement and locked the door behind me.
Chapter 10
The corridor was lined with elegant gold frames that contained a variety of paintings placed on the walls. Truth be told, it was a gorgeous place. It had the old Southern charm that one would expect when they came to this area of the nation. If it were under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have minded coming here and taking a tour of the place. Obviously, however, I was in a bit of a hurry with more pressing matters on my mind. It’s weird. The things you think about when under stress. I was almost killed and I still had to find Cierra, and yet the thought of admiring the color of the walls or the old wooden banisters made me reflect for a moment.
I held my gun by my head pointed up trying not to bump into any of the paintings on the wall. I had to be as quiet as I could in order to successfully maneuver around anyone who might still be in the house. My body ached and all I wanted to do was lie down in a bath of Epson salts and never get up again. I was definitely too old for this
shit. Since that wasn’t an option, I had to keep on going. I looked around and made it to the end of the hallway, peeking around to see if anyone was visible there.
I could see the main foyer with the double staircase. There were rooms on both levels. She could be in any one of them. So how was I going to determine which one? Frustration took over. I wanted to take care of this by spraying a hail of bullets and hitting everyone in my path. I wasn’t used to silence and restraining my inclination of violence. But this is a special occasion. I had to be smart about all of this. There were more of Gino’s men and if I made any wrong move, I would be of no use to her or myself. So instead, I snuck my way up the stairs and looked around.
I heard the faint sound of crying and knew instantly. It was Cierra. She had that childlike whimpering sound that she made when she was upset. I followed the sound and opened the second door on the right. She sat there on a fur-lined king-size bed. Her hair was messy and tears streamed down her cheeks. Guilt flooded my veins as remorse spread through my bones. I didn’t want her to have to go through this. I wish that I could take back everything that happened so she wouldn’t have to go through this pain. I knew that she was worried about our baby and that she was also worried about me. My screams from the basement couldn’t have been easy for her to hear. Worst of all, I hoped that she could forgive me. I knew that she was going to be mad at me, and that this is all my fault.
“Giovanni, what are you doing here? What happened to you?”
“Keep your voice low,” I told her. “We need to find a way to get out of here. Are you okay?”
“I was so worried about you. What have they done to you?”
“It isn’t important. Can you walk? You all right?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Stay close behind me. Let’s go.”
I held the gun out in front of me, pointed toward the direction of anyone who might stop us. It was going to be tricky getting out of here. There were guards everywhere. I wasn’t naïve enough to think we could just slip out without there being a body count. Gino was still around somewhere after all.
I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her, as I rushed us down the hallway. One side was open to the downstairs with a wrought iron stairwell exposing us. I looked over the edge to see if anybody was there, and once the coast was clear I led her downstairs. We ran right into a guard who we caught off-guard as much as he caught us. I reacted quickly by punching him in the jaw four times and knocking him out.
Cierra covered her mouth tried not to scream at the violence. I grabbed her hand and changed directions heading toward the back of the house, thinking that maybe the back entrance would be clear. There were two more guards who had their guns out and tried to shoot. I got to them first, putting two holes in each of them. Their bodies dropped and we jumped over them heading for the outside door.
“I can’t take this anymore, Giovanni. I didn’t sign up for this life,” she said.
“We’ll talk about this later Cierra right now we have to get out of here.”
I knew she was shaken up. Who wouldn’t be? I just needed to get her out of here first and then I could spend forever making all of this up to her.
I tried to be as comforting as possible. I knew she was pregnant and her hormones were going to be out of whack, but this was a stressful situation for anyone to endure. If I could just get her out of here and to safety, I knew that I could take care of her. But right now I just killed two guards and wounded another one and they were going to be after me.
We escaped through the back door and into the tree line. I didn’t have my earpiece to warn Carson and honestly, I wasn’t sure where he was at this point. Maybe he got scared and ran off. It didn’t look like anyone was following us. I told her just keep running.
Just past the tree line on the other side was a road that led to the convenience store. We stopped there and I called Carson.
“I need your help buddy.”
“What happened to you? I waited for hours. But then the guards came checking the perimeter and I had to take off.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Listen, meet us here at the Burgundy Way convenience store.”
I hung up with Carson and took Cierra to the back of the building.
My senses were on high alert. The last thing I needed was for somebody to take us off guard, for me not to see it coming. I remained watchful looking at every single person that went in and out of the convenience store. I watched suspiciously to see if they were any of Gino’s men. I felt Cierra shaking beside me and hugged her.
“I’m sorry about everything Cierra.”
People walked in and out of the convenience store as we watched from the woods adjacent to the building. Children and parents, people getting gas and everyday people going about their business with no idea what was happening around them. I wished that I was one of them. Only days earlier we were both were like them. Carefree with nothing to worry about. Of course Gino was always in the back of our minds, but after six months it didn’t seem like we were ever going to hear from him. Now the entire world was crashing down around us. The only thing I could think about was how to get us out of the situation.
I pulled Cierra back out of the line of sight. She looked at me.
“Stay down. I don’t want anyone to find us here.”
She looked at me like she had just discovered who I was for the first time. I pushed down my feelings of guilt and tried to focus on the present situation. We weren’t out of the woods yet, Gino and his men could be anywhere.
I kissed her forehead, trying to reassure her. It was all I could do for now. My entire relationship with her had been built on me promising her that things would happen. Some of which did come through, but many others that haven’t yet. I should have learned by now to keep my mouth shut and let my promises show through actions instead of words.
She pulled away. “Giovanni, why is all this happening? What’s going to happen to us?”
I wanted to answer her, but as soon as I started to I noticed a black SUV pull up followed by another behind it. My heart sank in my chest because I knew who it was. There was no mistaking it. This was a small town, and the convenience store looked to be inhabited mostly by locals. Gino stuck out like a sore thumb here. I grabbed Cierra and moved her further back into the trees so that nobody could see us.
“Don’t move, it’s them,” I said, trying to be quiet and still so as not to draw any attention.
Cierra froze. Her breathing became labored and she began to hyperventilate. I held her in my harms trying to stifle the sounds. We were only a few feet from the building and if we weren’t careful we were going to be spotted by them.
My impatience grew for Carson. Where was he? Impatience turned to concern. What if he didn’t notice until it was too late that they were here? How was he going to pick us up?
We retreated further back into the woods and headed toward the road. I hoped that I could somehow cut him off before he turned into the store.
“Be very quiet and follow me,” I said.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
As we ran toward the road, I heard a man yell, “There they are!”
I assumed they were talking about us and ran with Cierra behind me toward the road. Adrenaline pumped through me. I was not going back to that torture chamber or worse and I wasn’t going to allow Cierra to suffer a similar fate. I grabbed my gun from my waist band and pointed it in the direction of the noise. I started squeezing off rounds into the crowd of Gino’s men hoping I was hitting enough of them that it took them off guard.
Chapter 11
Just as I started to lose hope and the men surrounded the two of us, Carson saved our skin. He pulled up, screeching his tires and surprising a couple of the men when he ran into them sending their bodies flying across his hood. I suppose that scene should have seemed horrific to me. I mean, it's not every day that a person witnesses bodies being flung into the air and landing on hot concrete, blood
splattering about their dead bodies, but I was so used to violence that I was actually relieved that he took them out so I wouldn't have to deal with them. I was counting my lucky stars that there were two less of them that could put holes in us.
Not to mention a huge, overwhelming sense of relief flooded me that I would be able to save Cierra. She was my only concern. I needed to protect her and our unborn child at all costs. I was so used to being on my own that it was nice to have Carson as a backup.
My eyes widened as I saw everything play out in front of me. I carefully pushed Cierra in the direction of the car.
"Run to the car!" I screamed.
I returned fire to cover Cierra so that she could get to Carson’s car safely. I followed her, shooting in the direction of the other men, and got into the car, shutting the car door behind me. Carson sped away.
That was one of the most intense shoot outs I'd ever been involved in, mainly because there was so little cover available. It was a wonder than none of us was shot. Cierra seemed a little shaken up. I knew she had definitely never experienced anything like this before. It was my hope that once I killed Gino and his men that she would never have to worry about it again. She could go back to being that innocent young woman I first met.
That's when it hit me. I had taken so much from her. Her old life. Her love. I hadn't meant to be so greedy or selfish because I truly did love her, but I had really put her life in jeopardy by dragging her into this world. It wasn't fair to her. It wasn't fair to our child.
It would probably take me years to figure out how to make all of this up to her, but I vowed that I would use the rest of the time I had here on Earth to try. She was worth it and she deserved a good life, free from the one I came from.
Chapter 12
"Where are we going?" Carson asked.
"Take us to the widow maker," I told him.
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 98