MOBSTER’S BABY_Esposito Family Mafia

by Nicole Fox

  “I—” I paused. “He was?”

  Hellen nodded, handing me the plates with the sandwiches. I took one, and gave one to Rose so she could have something in her poor stomach.

  “He had been thinking about it before the wreck, as Rose got older. He felt bad keeping you for so long when he knew all you were trying to do was get away from the chaos of the life. Before your boys cleaned up their act and straightened themselves out, at least.”

  “Little late to think about what Holland was or wasn’t going to do, though.”

  “Yeah, well, ain’t that just the way.”

  I nibbled at the sandwiches and saw that Rose was doing the same. Good. I turned my attentions back to Hellen.

  “What’s happened since I left, Hellen?” I asked. “Why are you being treated like this?”

  She laughed a little bitterly. “Because I stood by Holland even when he was in a coma, I wouldn’t do what Rigger wanted just because he was trying to be macho and a piece of shit. I stood up for the club girls, too. It’s one thing to pass them around and screw their brains out, another to do half the shit those boys were allowed to do to them. Had too much of a big mouth.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Hellen waved her hand at me and shrugged.“Don’t be. For Rigger? He was a piece of shit when he joined and Holland should have never taken him in. For everything that that man ever did, he always had a shitty soft spot for people, even when he shouldn’t have.”

  I shifted.“I’m sorry he’s gone, Hellen.”

  “Ah, yeah, well. So am I, Misha.”

  She stared at me a little, her brows furrowed. She’d never hated me, even with the way Holland had taken me. I’d always found that odd, though it was nice that she hadn’t. I supposed it was part of her being a practical woman. Hellen was nothing if not practical.

  “Your man coming to get you?” Hellen asked suddenly. I glanced at her and she gave me a raised brow.

  “It ain’t like I’m gonna tell Rigger, but you should know that if your man is coming, Rigger’s got boys here and that little weasel Jared—”

  “Jared told me about Rigger looking for me to begin with.”

  Hellen laughed. “Honey, who do you think told him to go out and drop that information? Jared’s gotten into a lot of trouble … They thought that he helped you escape, for one, but he’s also been skimming money from Holland for years, then come to find he thought he was going to do the same with Rigger. Holland wasn’t ever stellar with numbers, but I’ll hand it to Rigger, he’s smart like that, saw right through. Told him he’d spare his life if he dropped a couple of little hints to scare you up, maybe make you come back on your own, then hang around in town for the finale. He knew your boys would come looking for him to see where they’d be taking you.”

  I drew in a breath, and shook my head. I could hardly process any of this.

  “I thought Jared was my friend.”

  “Jared is your friend, but he’s also a raging coward, baby.”

  I couldn’t even argue with her on that one. I knew that Jared was a coward. I didn’t think that he would betray me like that, though. Just for himself.

  Hellen put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t dwell on it, Misha,” she said. “It’ll only make it worse. Hunker down until your man comes. I don’t know all of what Rigger has planned, but it won’t do you any good trying to run out.”

  Hellen left, and I weighed my options. Jared had had a hand in all of this. I shouldn’t have felt so bad—but I did. It twisted something ugly in my chest and it legitimately hurt.

  I finished off my sandwich with gusto, and looked to Rose. I needed to get her out of here. She could run, and run, and run, but the Jackals had bikes … Unless she ran into the woods.

  My phone was still in my pocket. Callum hadn’t taken it; I’d silenced the ringer and slipped it into my pocket, letting him think that it had been left behind. I pulled it out and tucked it into the little PJ pocket that she had.

  “Honey,” I said. “When the time is right, I’m gonna tell you to run, okay? You need to run as fast as you can, into the woods. Don’t stop until you hit the road, okay? You remember how we left?”

  She nodded at me, though she was still shaking.

  “Mama, you’ll come with me, right?”

  “I’ll follow you, sweetie.”

  “But, Mama—”

  “You have to trust me Rose, okay? Please.”

  She sniffed but nodded, and tucked her face into my chest. I didn’t know if it was the right choice to make, but it was the choice that I was making nonetheless for my daughter.

  I waited as patiently as I could, then. It was maybe ten minutes after that the door opened once more, and it was Callum that came in.

  “Rigger’s here. Wants you downstairs.”

  His smirk told me that something gross was likely up, but there was something positive in that; it would be easier to get Rose out of this goddamn house down there as opposed to up here. Rigger could do whatever he wanted with me after Rose was gone, but I needed her out and in the woods and I needed her calling someone for help. I stood and took Rose’s hand. Callum tried to touch me to nudge me out of the room, and I dodged his touch. He only laughed.

  “You can keep doing that all you want; it’s not gonna change a damn thing, Misha.”

  With that, we made our way down the stairs. Each step echoed nervously in my heart, but I steeled myself for my daughter. I had to keep my nerve and my wits about me.

  Downstairs, there were a few Jackals about—but I knew it wasn’t all of them. They were the ones that had always been somewhat in Rigger’s pocket. They’d probably been all too happy to jump Holland’s ship and throw their support in for Rigger once Holland was out of the way. They were scattered about the downstairs, leering, with Rigger in the middle of them.

  He was tall and built, and would probably have been handsome if he wasn’t such a disgusting human being. His hair was black as pitch and his eyes were clear blue. Dreamy, to a lot of the club girls, before he got his hands on them, at least.

  “Misha. Nice of you to return.”

  “I didn’t really have much of a choice, Rigger.”

  “You had plenty of choice! You came back willingly rather than trying to fight your way out. You had a choice to stay here, too, but I suppose you had an itch that needed scratched. You should be grateful that I let you scratch it for as long as I did.”

  I said nothing. He smirked and walked toward me, circling around me. It was like he was a predator eyeing prey, sizing me up, trying to see how much of a bite he could take out of me. it was honestly sickening, but there was little that I could do about it. He got closer, reached out and fluffed his fingers through my hair. I stepped away from him and he reached out and grabbed my upper arm, pulling me closer to him. It would almost have been considered a lover’s embrace, but he was far from a lover. I could smell the cloves on his breath and the hints of his cologne on his skin. I hated the combination of those scents.

  “Did you miss me, Misha?”

  “Like someone misses cancer,” I griped.

  He chuckled. “That’s rude. And here I have a house for you, a bed for you, food for you. And this is how you treat me. You run away, and then when I give you your little vacationyou come back to me with an attitude. I don’t like that all too much, Misha. Not at all.”

  “I’m sure you’ll live, Rigger.”

  He laughed again, and this time he let me go, though he continued to circle me.

  “So, did you enjoy it? Your little rendezvous with your old flame? Was it enjoyable? Did you have fun?” He eyed Rose. “He put another one in you?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Aw, the silent treatment. That’s so cruel. I thought we could talk about your vacation, like old friends. But apparently I was wrong. You come back thinking that you can talk to me any way that you want. Didn’t you learn anything while you were here under me, Misha?”

  I didn’t answer him again.
This time, his stare got nasty.

  “Tut, tut. You give a girl a little bit of freedom and then she’s ungrateful for it.”

  Before I knew it, a hand came across my face. It was hard, and knocked me to the ground. Rose yelled out, but I didn’t respond; my ears were ringing from the force of the hit across my face and I felt the blood starting to run down my nose.

  “Misha, you know I hate marking you up,” he said, stooping down to take my face in his hand. He made me look at him and his head was tilted, that predatory gaze staring back at me in those evil blue eyes. I glared at him.

  “You like it, and don’t even try to tell me that you don’t. I know you, Rigger. You’re a disgusting, sadistic son of a bitch.”

  “Ouch. Such foul language. And in front of the girl. Tut.”

  He let go of my face and stepped away. He started to approach Rose, and she began to back away from him.

  “Come now, girl. Don’t be shy. You remember Uncle Rigger, don’t you?”

  Rose whined, stepping further away from him, out of his reach. She was getting closer to the door. I saw this as her chance.

  “Rose, now!”

  She spared me only a single glance before turning and bolting. One of Rigger’s men tried to reach out and snatch her, but she was too fast for him and ended up darting out of his grasp and out of the front door. It banged open, and I watched as my daughter’s figure flitted away into the darkness before the door banged closed again. A few of the men moved toward the door, intent on going after her. To my surprise, Rigger called them off.

  “Forget about her. She’ll get lost in the dark and the woods and she’ll either come back or she’ll deal with the elements and the animals.” He looked down to me. “Clever, I suppose, but not wholly. If you think she’s gonna get away quick and fast, you’re wrong.” With the toe of his boot, he rolled me over, onto my back on the floor. I looked at him from my place there, hating him with every fiber of my being but knowing at the very least that this was going to give Rose a head start. She wasn’t totally helpless; she had a phone that was almost all the way charged and she was smart even if she was young.

  “You know, I always thought you were such a handful. Even when you were Holland’s, walking around like you were untouchable just because he threw you a bone or two here and there. And then getting uppity when we finally had the chance to keep you in your place.”

  “You’re a piece of shit. Of course I want nothing to do with you,” I snapped.

  Callum smirked.

  “Well see about that. We’ll see—”

  Suddenly, the front door bust open. I was startled, and looked over to see Trip charging in, along with the other Pride boys. My heart jumped in my chest, elated, but not when I saw guns drawn on both sides. My eyes widened, knowing there was going to be some sort of firefight.

  “Misha, get out of the way!” I heard Trip’s voice as he shouted at me, moving in on Rigger. I couldn’t lose him.

  I knew Rigger needed to go down first. I kicked my foot out as a shot rang out loud and Rigger let out a surprised grunt as he began to fall to the floor.

  Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I saw the anger on Rigger’s face, and I saw the gun pointed at me. I heard someone shout my name—it might have been Trip, it might have been someone else. All I knew was that Rigger was going down to the floor, and there was a sharp pain that radiated out from the right side of my body.

  More shots rang out, but I slumped against the floor, my eyes turned up to the ceiling. I saw people run past, and more shouts. There might have been another set of shots before they died out, but I couldn’t pay attention to them.

  My thoughts were on Rose. Was she okay? Had she made it to the road? Would the Pride boys follow her? Would they take care of her? Of course they would. She was Trip’s blood and he wouldn’t let a damn thing happen to his little girl.

  “Misha? Misha?”

  I felt hands on me. Sweet, warm hands, that held me so tightly against a solid body. I blinked; I hadn’t realized that I had closed my eyes at all.

  “Trip …” His face swam in a blur in front of my face, but it was him.

  “Misha, come on. You’re gonna be fine. Keep your eyes open.”

  “I’m so tired, Trip.” Why was I so tired?

  “Misha, you need to stay awake for me, okay, baby? Come on. No, don’t close your eyes again—”

  “I love … I love you … Trip.”

  “Misha? Misha!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trip

  Waiting was the worst thing. So many hours. So many questions.

  The hospital was accommodating. They knew about the Pride as they knew about the Jackals and the fewer questions they asked, the better off they would be. The heat wouldn’t be on us—but the heat wasn’t what was most on my mind.

  Misha lay in a hospital bed before me, hooked up to machines. She’d just gotten out of surgery to remove the bullet and stabilize her lungs. She didn’t have a trace of blood left on her, but it was caked on my clothes from where I’d held her, dying in my arms.

  This was never supposed to happen. I was supposed to be the one that protected her from this shit, not brought more of it down on her. But why else had this happened? I’d thought that I could fucking … play God or some shit. I wasn’t sure.

  My head was a mess. My girl was a mess. My daughter was a mess.

  She was on the hospital bed with Misha. Curled on her. She refused to move. Travis had gone after her when she’d bolted out of the house and managed to get her before she’d gotten away too quickly. Lifesaver, that man. Now she refused to leave Misha’s side. I couldn’t blame her.

  I wished that the sight of my girl and my daughter sleeping together could have brought me more joy than the ache that was currently in my chest, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me right now. I didn’t know what was going to happen when Misha woke.

  I sighed. I stood. Rose wasn’t going to wake anytime soon and neither was Misha. I stepped outside.

  Travis and Brig flanked the door, like bodyguards.

  “I’m going for a smoke,” I said. They nodded.

  I hadn’t smoked in forever. Not since Misha first disappeared. She’d always hated the smell of cigarettes and I’d always pretended to be a little hard ass despite that.

  I needed them desperately right now, though. The front of the hospital was the only smoking zone that was there, so I took myself down the few levels and out the front. I was surprised to see Holland’s old lady—Hellen, I think her name was. Her presence sent my hackles up.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. She held out one of her own, and despite my apprehensions, I did her the favor of lighting her cig for her.

  “Waiting for you to get stressed and worked up enough to smoke. You men always do.”

  “What’s your excuse?”

  “Son, I been smoking longer than you’ve been alive. Don’t try me.”

  “Hmph.”

  Our silence didn’t lapse long.

  “How is she?”

  “You care?”

  Hellen scoffed.“You’re not the only one capable of having feelings. You forget, I housed that girl in my home for five years. Holland wasn’t the only one that took to her, though I guess my interest in her was more motherly than anything else.”

  “How kind of you.”

  “If you’re just wanting to have a pissing contest, I can leave.”

  “What do you want?” I didn’t have the patience for … well, whatever the fuck this was that she was doing.

  “I wanted to check on Misha and on Rose. You know, there are Jackals that care about her.”

  “What, like Jared?”

  “Jared isn’t a Jackal. He’s a spineless little puppy that was misfortunate enough to wander into the lot with the other dogs. I meant me. The club girls. Misha’s not the only one that’s been burned by Jackal men, and she looked out for them—and me. I just wa
nted to make sure she was going to recover well. And to give her this.”

  Hellen pulled an envelope out of her jacket. I eyed it suspiciously.

  “What is that?”

  “What was left to her after Holland died. I kept it safe and out of Rigger’s grubby hands. You should be glad that you ended up shooting him down; he’d have died to get his hands on this.”

  With that, she flicked her cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. She started to walk away before I caught her.

  “Wait.”

  She turned to look at me. “What, boy? I have a club to go back to and business to sort.”