Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance

by Ashley Stewart

  He promised her that one day they would have a nice quiet home, and live an abundant life out of the eye of anybody who might want to come looking for them.

  She kissed him. She understood that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and was trying his best to protect them all. They packed up their picnic and their belongings and put it back in the truck before heading back to the wooded cottage that she had rented. She walked inside and put down the picnic basket and the towels. All in all, it was a good day.

  Chapter 22

  Cierra was down at the restaurant past closing time to join the rest of the employees for a fishing expedition. This was something she had never done before but was open to trying it. The goal was to spear a flounder and put it in the cooler in order for it to be cooked up at the restaurant, as they caught some of their fish fresh for customers.

  She held the spear steady as her boss Debbie held the light so that she could see the fish lying on the bottom of the lake. She took a deep breath and stabbed the forked prongs into the fish successfully catching it on her first try.

  This was another new experience that she felt grateful to be part of with people she had grown to like. She enjoyed the camaraderie of her coworkers. Debbie let her bring home her first catch as a reward for helping her fish. She thought this would be perfect for her and Giovanni to cook on the grill.

  It was nice spending time with him again and she remembered how much she missed him. Their life in Wilmington had been wonderful. Absolutely perfect. She wished that they were still there now, but Sandersonville also had its charm that she grew to love quickly. She didn’t want to move again but heard Giovanni’s words in the back of her mind telling her that if he was able to find her, so was Gino. She wondered how much time they had left here before they would have to leave again. It saddened her to think that this might never end.

  She and Giovanni spent the last few days going out to eat in various restaurants or taking their meal to the lake. They ate oysters and took quiet drives in the evening around the town looking at all that Sandersonville had to offer. It was romantic. It was a nice reprieve from running. She tried to enjoy herself but the cloud that was Gino was constantly hanging over her pleasant thoughts.

  Chapter 22

  Gino looked out of the window as he drove into the dusty, dirt road town. How did people live like this? He couldn’t believe it. He felt like he was a throwback in a time travel movie. He was definitely far from Miami.

  Children were riding bikes around the town square. There were pet owners walking their dogs carrying on casual conversations with other pedestrians. The local law enforcement was probably a joke.

  The black SUVs pulled into several parking spaces near the town hall. Gino stepped out of his SUV and onto the gravel road getting dust on his shoes. Nothing irritated him more than to present an unpolished appearance to the world. He took a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped the dirt off of his shoes. When he was satisfied they were clean enough, he put the handkerchief back in his pocket.

  He stood up and looked around again.

  “Looks like we’re in fucking Kansas, Toto.”

  The men who had traveled with him laughed. He always took an entourage with him wherever he went. All of them were trained bodyguards but some also did his bidding, whatever he needed they got it done.

  He looked at his men and back at the black SUVs and realized that the bunch of them were sticking out. They looked like they were from out of town. Gino thought that this might not go over well with the locals. To them, he and his guys were probably like a walking alarm. For all he knew, the people had already called a town meeting within seconds of them arriving.

  “Get back in the car boys, we need to be a little less obvious.”

  His men piled back in the two SUVs and pulled out of the parking spots.

  “Find us a hotel to check into,” Gino ordered.

  “Only hotel is on edge of town, boss. Name is The Loft,” one of his men said as he searched on his cell phone.

  “It should be named The Snore,” Gino said to the laughter of his men.

  What a boring po-dunk town, Gino thought. He was glad he wasn’t raised there—the poor inbred bastards. Although the scenery was pretty amazing, that was the only thing going for this town.

  When they arrived at The Loft hotel, Gino and his men piled out of their vehicles and stepped into the hotel. A couple of his guys stayed outside and stood watch while the rest accompanied Gino inside.

  Gino laughed at the dated country décor on the walls. The old wood counter top showed the age of the place. It was highly likely that it probably hadn’t ever been renovated. He noticed when they came in that the front porch was creaky.

  They were greeted by an old man wearing overalls and glasses.

  “Hey pops, I need a couple of rooms for me and my boys.”

  “How long ya staying?” the clerk said.

  “As long as we want, pops,” Gino said.

  He looked at the clerk who stared back at him. He could tell the old man wanted to say something but instead he checked them in and handed him the keys to a couple of rooms.

  “Top of the stairs and to the left,” the clerk said.

  “Now, was that so hard?” Gino taunted. He didn’t tolerate any disrespect no matter how small.

  He walked upstairs making insulting comments about clerk and townspeople under his breath to his men.

  They found three rooms that corresponded to the numbers on the keys. This hotel was still using actual keys, not plastic cards to open their doors. Perhaps if he hadn’t been impatient to find his mark, he would have taken more time to appreciate the quaint place.

  “Can’t wait to see what palace I have awaiting me here,” Gino said.

  He turned the key and opened the door. He walked into his room and stuck his head back out in the hallway.

  “Be back downstairs in five. We need to plan our next move,” he told them.

  Chapter 23

  Cierra held two brands in her hands, which shampoo should she get? The last shampoo she tried left her hair brittle. She had never had that problem before. Maybe it was because she was pregnant? She read the ingredients of the brand name and compared it to the ingredients of the generic. She shook her head in disbelief, they had practically the same ingredients. She put the generic brand in her basket and returned the brand name to the shelf.

  “These men checked in yesterday from out of town. There were six of them all dressed in fine suits,” the hotel clerk spoke to another man in the grocery store one aisle over.

  Cierra heard his voice echo throughout the small store. She was briefly annoyed at why he had to be so loud and then reasoned that he was an elderly man and probably had trouble hearing. Then she let her brain digest what he said.

  Men from out of town.

  The clerk mentioned men in black and gray suits coming into town and staying at his hotel. Cierra froze and listened to their conversation. The clerk went on about a short guy who was the leader of the group insulting him.

  “Back in my younger days, I would have asked him to step outside,” the clerk said.

  It was Gino. She was sure of it. Could it be possible? Giovanni warned her about him finding her. A warm flush of blood flooded her cheeks and down her body. Her heartbeat sped up, she couldn’t believe this was really happening.

  “He wore a gold ring on his right pinky with the letter ‘G’ on the top,” the clerk continued talking to his friend.

  It was Gino. She had seen that ring before. She became increasingly paranoid and looked around her and outside the window. She dropped the basket on the floor and ran out of the store. She had borrowed Giovanni’s truck and used it now to race home and tell him what she just heard.

  She tried to convince herself that she was overreacting. It was probably some Italian smartasses on their way through town and only wanted to stay for the night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working. She knew it was him. Even though she knew th
is could happen and that it probably would eventually, she was still unprepared for it. This town had become her saving grace and she wanted to protect it from the outside world.

  She worried about Giovanni. She worried about the baby and herself. If Gino found them he would kill them dead in the streets. There was no debating with Gino. He would kill them all.

  Chapter 24

  She watched Giovanni’s face turn gray. Before he said anything, he rushed her into the bedroom, opened the closet and pulled out a bag.

  “Start packing,” he said.

  She grabbed her clothes out of the closet and put them in the bag. Then she went into the bathroom to pack up her toiletries. It took her mind a second to catch up with what was happening and when it did she stopped and turned to him.

  “Why are you stopping?” he asked.

  “If we run now, we will always be running. I don’t want to run anymore, Giovanni.”

  He looked at her. He could understand why she wanted to stay here, he found the place endearing as well, but it wasn’t realistic. If Gino and his men really were in town it could be a matter of hours before he found them. He couldn’t risk her or the baby being hurt.

  “Think about the baby,” he said. “I can’t protect you if I am worried about you. You need to go. Now.”

  He thought he had lost her once and it nearly killed him, now that he found her and they were together, he had no intention of anyone taking that away from him again. He could deal with Gino, but not if he couldn’t get his mind clear. To do that, she needed to be out of danger and as far away from here as possible.

  “I understand. But what about you?” she asked.

  “What about me?”

  “What if something happens to you?”

  She looked at him with a sorrowful expression as if she was assuming he was dead already.

  “Don’t count me out just yet,” he gave a half-hearted smile.

  He wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay, but he didn’t have the authority to do that. God was the only one who knew the future. His job was to get her to a safe place.

  “I am going to be fine. I am the best hitman in the world, remember?” He nudged her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

  She looked at him with a slight smile.

  “You love that title, don’t you?” she asked.

  “At one time, yes. Now, it stands in my way of a life with you, so no, I don’t identify with it anymore.”

  Giovanni chambered a round in his pistol and stuck it in his waistband. He put two more on his back for good measure.

  Chapter 25

  A giant lobster sat on his plate covered in butter and drizzled with a squeeze of lemon. Gino had to admit, if only to himself, that it was the best lobster he’d ever had. Even better than what he ate at the most expensive restaurants in Miami.

  He noticed the looks he and his men were getting and despite dressing a little less like they were still in Miami, people still noticed that they didn’t belong. He decided not to say anything, he had more important matters to discuss. Specifically, how to find that bitch. He took another bite of his lobster. He looked around and realized something. If they were getting this many stares, then it was obvious that locals were very aware when strangers came into town. He reasoned that someone would probably know what she looked like.

  A young, blonde haired waitress came up to their table.

  “Another round of beers?” she asked with a twang in her voice.

  “No sweetheart,” Gino replied.

  She started to leave when he grabbed her hand. He pulled out the picture of Cierra from his coat pocket and showed it to her.

  “Have you seen this girl?” he asked watching her face for some kind of recognition.

  “Of course, that’s Cierra,” the waitress said.

  Gino stood up. “You know this girl?”

  “Yes, she works here. Well, she’s off tonight, but she usually works the day shift.”

  Gino was excited. Perhaps this wouldn’t take that long after all.

  “Do you know where she lives?” he asked.

  She gave him a strange look. She probably knew exactly what he was doing. That he was here to harm her. That’s how it would look to him if someone asked him the same question. He tried to relax and deliver a story that would convince her to give him the information.

  “It’s not like that. You see, I’m her uncle’s assistant. He sent me to find her because her family is worried about her. She ran away and they have been trying to find her. Her uncle told me that he didn’t have to know where she was, just to give her some money to help her and the baby.”

  Would this work? He watched the waitress’ expression change.

  Carla knew Cierra was struggling, especially since her belly was growing more and more each day. She figured that if his story was true, the extra money would come in handy.

  “She lives in an old wood cottage about a mile down that way.” Carla pointed to the long dirt road that lay beside the restaurant and marina.

  “Thanks sweetheart. I know her uncle is going to be so happy to know that she is okay.”

  Gino got up from his table and pulled out his wallet. The other men slid their chairs back and stood up waiting for his next order. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill.

  “For you.” He handed the bill to the waitress.

  “Oh gosh, sir. I can’t take this.”

  “Yes you can. It’s for being so helpful.”

  He pushed it on her until she grabbed the money and stuffed it into her pocket.

  “Boys, let’s roll.” He walked out of the restaurant followed by his men.

  Next stop, Cierra’s house.

  Chapter 26

  Cierra knew Debbie would let her stay with her. She had been kind to her in the past, offering her a place in her house if she needed one. Cierra grabbed several pairs of shirts and pants out of her closet and stuffed them in a bag. She finished packing just as they both heard a noise. It sounded like a voice and it was coming from outside. They froze waiting to see if they would hear it again. A few seconds passed and nothing happened. As they began to resume packing, they heard it again.

  “Cierra!” the voice said.

  She froze, her heart wildly racing. It was like confronting death and this time she had nowhere to run.

  Giovanni pulled back the living room curtain just enough to see that Gino was standing there holding a handgun at his side, his men all wearing sunglasses standing behind him. He was nervous and he couldn’t deny that. It didn’t mean anything. He could take them all out, but being caught off guard like this was not in the realm of his comfort zone and he did not like it at all.

  Gino looked smug. He knew he had caught her off guard. What he didn’t know what that Cierra wasn’t the only person in the house.

  “Come out woman, or we will all come in,” Gino taunted.

  Gino hoped to scare Cierra badly enough for her to fear for her life. He wanted to hear her beg before he killed her and her child.

  “What are we going to do?” Cierra asked.

  Giovanni grabbed her shoulders.

  “You are going to run out the back of the house and head for the tree line. Once you get there you are going to keep going until you can make it back to town without anyone seeing you. Get to the police station and tell the sheriff everything.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “I’ll be fine. I will hold them off for as long as I can. You have to go right now.”

  “No. I’m not going without you,” she said.

  Her arms wrapped around his body as she tried desperately to hold on to him forever.

  “There’s no time.” Giovanni peeled her arms off of him.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “I love you too. Now go.”

  Chapter 27

  Cierra opened the back door and rushed out of it, running down the back porch steps when she ran into one of Gino’s men. She looked
up and stopped. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She had just walked right into the lion’s den.

  He grabbed her arm, twirled her around and put his hand over her mouth. Her muffled screams did not echo very far rendering her call for help useless. She struggled to get away from him, but he put his arm around her neck holding her off balance. He dragged her, heading toward the front of the house. She used the heel of her foot and dug it deep into the top of his foot, stomping on it as hard as she could. His foot jerked up in reaction to the pain as his arms released her.

  She started running again for the tree line but was grabbed by two more men. They dragged her around, despite her kicking and screaming, to the front of the house. She was worried about her level of stress on the baby. She knew she couldn’t keep struggling for very long and she was tiring out fast.

  In an effort to calm herself, she tried to take a couple of deep breaths.

  “Ah, there you are.” Gino looked her up and down noticing that her belly had grown quite a bit since the last time he saw her.

  “And you have a secret package too. How sad for both of you,” he said.

  Cierra began to cry. She didn’t want her baby to die this way—at the hands of a homicidal maniac, no less. She wanted a life with Giovanni where they could raise their baby, grow old and die in their sleep still holding hands. But none of that seemed to matter right now. She wasn’t going to get everything she wanted. She was going to die today. And so was her baby.

  Chapter 28

  “Let her go.”

  Giovanni stepped out of the front door and let the screen door slam shut behind him.

  Gino was surprised to see him as he didn’t expect him to be there. This was great news. He thought he was going to have to torture his whereabouts out of Cierra. Now, he could get on to the business of killing them both. He was delighted for the present circumstances and counted himself lucky.