Good Wood (Carved Hearts)

by L. G. Pace III

  No. Just send it through the lawyer. I am busy with work, I don’t have any time today.

  He must have been holding his phone because my phone beeped before I had a chance to think.

  Doll, it is no big deal. Really. I’ll just stop by and drop it off.

  Fat chance you fucking prick. No way am I telling you where I am.

  Taking a few minutes to get my nerves in check, I went back to my prep. I put Draven out of my mind and threw myself into my work. Just after our lunch rush began to wind down, the vapid window girl, called back to me.

  “Hey Molly? Got a guy that wants to talk to you.”

  I headed to the front of the truck expecting a customer with a comment or a friend wanting to say hello. Instead, there stood Draven, dressed in his navy Armani with a satisfied smirk on his face. I waited for the last customer to leave the window before I moved my cashier aside. I had no intention of my new workplace becoming the site of another scene with Draven. Taking a deep breath I tried to be as civil as possible.

  “What are you doing here, Drae?”

  He gave me the sly smile I used to find so alluring and sauntered forward. His cool mannerisms that I used to find sexy now struck me as creepy. He leaned on the window and brought his face as close to mine as he could. I inched back from him keeping out of arms reach.

  “Didn’t you get my text? You didn’t reply so I figured you didn’t care if I came by.”

  “I told you I was busy. How did you even find me?” A flash of anger marred his grey eyes before his charming smile locked back into place.

  “Hey, I don’t want to fight. There’s an app that shows everyone in Austin where your food truck is. I just followed the icon and here you are. You look great, Doll.”

  Fuck. Stacy had us linked on the Austin Food Trucks map. Who would have thought that advertising my business would lead my worst nightmare right to me.

  I wanted to make sure you had the money as soon as possible. The thought of you being short on funds makes me worry. You know how much I hate worrying about you.”

  He was really pouring it on.

  I used to buy this bullshit? How fucking brain dead can one girl be.

  “I’m not yours to worry about. If you want to drop off the check, fine. Leave it and go. From what I hear you have a new wife and baby you should be worrying about.”

  The dig hit home and the look of anger stayed on his face. It held an air of warning that melted away to that smile. A chill went up my back. If I had ever doubted that Draven would hurt me, I didn’t anymore. The control freak was getting pissed that he wasn’t making any headway.

  “Molly, you should be a little more grateful. I’m just trying to be nice. You used to like it when I was nice.” The suggestive way he said it made my skin crawl.

  “The past is past. I’ve moved on and I don’t want you in my life anymore. Please go.” I somehow kept the fear out of my voice. Rage flared up in his eyes and the truck creaked where his hands were gripping it so hard his knuckles were white. Then he released the truck and relaxed giving me an ominous smile.

  “I’m sure you don’t mean that. You should be careful, Molly. Remember what happened the last time you were disrespectful to me.” The smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes. He stared at me for a full minute then turned and walked back to his car.

  Only after his car had disappeared from sight did I let myself feel what had just happened. I turned the truck over to the newbies to handle the stragglers and went to take a break. When I was safely hidden behind the truck, screened by a privacy fence that separated the parking lot from the next property, I let myself lose it.

  I smothered quiet sobs in my hands and could not stop shaking. All the safety I had felt from being away from that monster was slipping through my fingers like water. Panic swelled inside me. What if he kept stalking me? He was smart, he could probably keep after me until I either lost my mind or he killed me. The one thing I was sure of was that he would never get me back. It would be better to die than to be with that fucking psycho ever again.

  Ten minutes later I had decided two things. There was no way we were going to make enough money for it to be worth staying for the rest of the day. The second was that I should never have let Stacy have the day off. Being out here without her or Sanchez was like being naked and defenseless in a jungle.

  I went back into the truck and gave the crew the good news: an early day with full pay. Clean up the truck, park it, and lock up. They high fived and swore to make the counters sparkle before they left. Trying to keep my hands from shaking I grabbed my keys and headed for my car.

  I thought about calling Dan, but he would be neck deep in helping his brother by now. I was striding down SoCo trying to think of my next move when I saw Draven. He’d parked his luxury rental a bit further down the street. We saw each other at the same time and he gave me a cutesy little wave. Terror shot through me and I sprinted for my car. He reached it just after I started the engine and smacked the roof as I screeched away. Tearing out of the parking lot, I sped off checking my rearview mirror every couple of seconds. I didn’t see him behind me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t done with me yet.

  I picked up my phone and dialed Joe.

  “Hey.” He sounded surprised and happy.

  “Joe.” I worked to control the terror in my voice. “It’s Draven. He’s here.”

  “Where are you?” His voice was calm with a deadly undertone.

  “Driving.”

  “Don’t go home Molly.” The words came out as a rapid order.

  “Okay. Where should I go?”

  “My place. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Get inside and lock the deadbolt.”

  When I finally pulled into a parking spot my feet led me quickly from my car to his door. I pulled out my keys and opened the door.

  Closing it behind me I shot the dead bolt. My phone rang and I looked at it and saw Draven’s number. Dropping it on the floor like it was a poisonous snake I retreated to the couch. I knew I should call someone, but my brain was not cooperating when I tried to think. I heard tires screech outside and rushed to the window.

  Below in the street I saw Draven step out of his car. He looked so pissed and instead of fear, I found myself forming fists so tight I dug my fingernails into my palms. His phone was in his hand and he turned in a circle before turning and looking right at Joe’s building. That’s when I knew for certain how he always found me.

  That bastard. He was tracking my IPhone!

  He spotted me in the window and a sinister smirk twisted his handsome face. A second later he was strolling toward the front door of the building.

  I dropped to the floor as if hiding would do any good. Scrambling on all fours, I snatched my phone from the floor. I flipped through to Joe’s number and was getting ready to press the call icon when Draven banged on the door. The door was heavy wood but it rattled hard when he struck it. It startled me enough to make me drop my phone. This time it broke and no amount of messing with it would bring the screen up

  “Molly…you’d better open this door.”

  Anger blossomed in my chest and I found myself screaming at him.

  “Fuck you, you psycho prick! Leave me alone! I’m calling the cops!”

  “And what are you going to tell them? That your ex showed up to give you a big fat check? Oh, the humanity. You know as well as I do that anything you say I can spin to my advantage. You might as well just open the door. You’re going to come back to me, Doll. You belong to me. And we aren’t done until I tell you that we’re done. Now quit being disrespectful and open this door.”

  He emphasized each word of his final sentence. Part of me quailed that what he was saying was true, that I would never be able to get away from him. But then my anger came back. I’d worked too hard to have him come back into my life and dictate how I was going to live.

  “I’ll use small words so that you can understand me, Draven. Go the fuck away. We’re done. I hope y
ou rot in hell!”

  “You fucking little bitch! I’ll rip your cunt head off for disrespecting me! When I get done with you, you’ll be begging me for forgiveness! Do you hear me? Begging!”

  His kicks had gotten heavier and more frequent while his voice rose. I’d never heard Draven this out of control and I wondered if Joe’s door would be enough to keep me safe. After his last word, there was a long moment of silence from outside the door and I heard another voice. Joe’s voice.

  “You must be Draven.” His deep voice sounded collected and I heard his footsteps coming up the stairs.

  “That’s right.” Draven’s voice had a troubling pleasantness about it. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’m Joe. I’m the new man in Molly’s life. You’re on my property and it’s time for you to go.”

  There was the sound of a struggle and then the heavy sounds of a body tumbling down the stairs. In horror, I started towards the door to see if it was Draven or Joe that had fallen. I paused, afraid to open it. Instead, I ran to the window trying to see if I could spot anything from there. Time seemed to drag out into an agonizing eternity. It felt like my entire world became the area I could see just outside the door of the building.

  A figure came flying out the door and down into the street. Draven didn’t look so suave now. His suit was tattered and dirty from his fall down the stairs and blood ran down his face from a cut near his eye and lip. As I watched Joe came into view, stalking purposefully toward Draven. Dread gripped me when I recalled Graham’s story and the part about Joe’s legal troubles for fighting. I wanted to run down the stairs but fear held me in place.

  As I watched, Draven bounced to his feet. Even without hearing what he was saying I could see the rage painted on his face. Joe kept his hands at his sides, his posture relaxed. Draven seemed to calm down and that repulsive smile slid onto his face. Just when I began to worry that he might work his magic on Joe, something changed. Joe made a shooing motion with his hands and Draven’s smile disappeared, replaced by an angry glare. Draven swung his left arm at Joe. It was the same crushing punch I had seen him throw several times at others. His opponent always ended up flat on their back, bleeding. Instead of falling down Joe moved sideways and stepped into the punch. Twisting his arm he captured Draven’s fist in between his arm and body.

  Draven threw his right without delay and Joe trapped the arm in a similar manner. From the shocked look Draven gave Joe, this move was unexpected. The expression was gone in a second and he drew his head back and tried to smash it into Joe’s face. Joe leaned back and at the same time wrenched Draven’s arms out to either side. Draven dropped to the ground and writhed there, holding his right arm which hung at an odd angle. It was at that moment that I heard the sirens.

  My feet began moving without me giving it any further thought. Throwing the door wide I rushed down the stairs. By the time I got down to the stoop, three cop cars were in front of the building. One officer was leaning down over Draven, another was leading Joe to the side. I started for Joe, but an officer intercepted me.

  “Ma’am? Can I speak with you, please?”

  It took the better part of fifteen minutes, and the manner of questions being asked painted a horrible picture. I could hear enough from Joe and Draven to see where this was headed. The cops had no sympathy for Joe; two of them seemed to have had past run-ins with him. Draven was playing the injured victim to the hilt. The ex-husband who was beaten by a jealous boyfriend when he came to drop off a check. Draven could obviously tell things were slanting his way and even managed to give me a cocky grin when no one was looking. He mouthed the words ‘You’re mine’.

  “This is bullshit. He’s been texting me and I’ve been telling him to go through my lawyer. Go look at my phone…” I trailed off, remembering it was broken.

  It felt like a nightmare. I tried to explain what had been going on and the officer listened but when she asked if I’d ever reported Draven and I said no, she didn’t seem to be on my side any longer. The officer with Joe took out hand cuffs and motioned for him to turn around. Joe didn’t resist. He spoke softly to the officer and kept looking back and forth between me and Draven. The officer shook his head and started leading Joe toward one of the squad cars when another officer stepped into his path.

  Joe’s sorrow filled eyes sought me out. He looked deeply troubled before he glared over his shoulder at Draven. The bastard flipped him off and actually laughed. Tears were blurring my vision and I felt like my chest was going to break open. I shot Draven a deadly look and he winked and blew me a kiss.

  The officer who had been taking Joe into custody returned to him and took his arm. The officer who’d intercepted him stepped over to Draven.

  “Sir, I need to ask a few clarifying questions if I may?” Draven gave the officer a pained look from his spot on the pavement and nodded.

  “Sure officer. I’m glad to help in any way that I can.” The cop crouched down, flipped open a notebook and pulled out a pen.

  “Thank you, Mr. Cirone. I appreciate the cooperation. I understand that you arrived to drop off a check to your ex-wife?” Draven nodded.

  “That’s right. The proceeds from the sale of our old house.” Draven winced. The officer made note.

  “I realize that you are injured, sir. I won’t take up too much more of your time. This check, do you have it with you?” Draven pulled his wallet out and with one hand pulled out the check. The officer looked at it and nodded. “And this is for the lady there?” Draven nodded and the officer stepped over and handed me a check. “There we go, just wanted to make sure that your trip wasn’t for nothing sir. To summarize, you were attacked by that gentleman over there?” He gestured at Joe.

  “That’s right. He threw me down the stairs and then came after me. He attacked me without provocation. I hate to think about what might have happened if you hadn’t arrived in time.”

  “Of course, sir. So your statement of record is that he attacked you with no provocation when you were here at the invitation of your ex-wife to drop off a check?” Draven nodded. If I’d had my kitchen knives with me at that moment, I’d have cut his nuts off. I wanted nothing more than to throw myself on Draven and rip his lying tongue out with my bare hands. The officer turned and beckoned to someone behind me and an older man stepped forward.

  At first, I didn’t recognize him. Then it hit me. The man standing in front of me, in a pale blue polo shirt, khaki slacks and boat shoes was someone I had been feeding almost every day since I opened my truck. Francis. He looked pretty far from homeless. He stopped next to Joe and nodded at him.

  “Well Mr. Cirone, it seems we have a witness here that has a different story to tell.” The confident look on Draven’s face slipped for a moment. He put his hand up on his shoulder a moment later.

  “Sorry, this really hurts. I’m not sure why he would be telling a different story. Maybe he’s a friend.” Francis nodded and I felt the twinkle of hope that had been kindling in my chest start to fizzle.

  “Yeah, I know Joe. I work for him and live in the apartment across the hall.” Francis announced.

  The conceited look of confidence was firmly back on Draven’s face.

  “See? His boss and landlord. Of course he’d feel the need to perjure himself to help him out. It’s only human to do what is in his best interest.” The officer nodded as if pondering this and gave Draven a look of sympathetic understanding.

  “That is true. It is not unusual in our line of work to see people working in their own best interest. But lucky for us there are a few new ways to clear up these kind of misunderstandings.

  For example, this witness wasn’t just giving a verbal statement. He recently got a new cell phone and was trying out one of the features. Specifically, the video recording app.” Draven’s look of confidence slipped and he grabbed his arm again.

  “This really hurts. Can we take care of this after I go to the hospital?”

  “Well, we’re just waiting on the ambulance to t
ake you. It should be here in a few minutes. When it gets here, an officer will accompany you to the hospital and make sure you receive the necessary care. After that you will be taken to booking.” Draven whipped his head up and glared at the officer.

  “Booked for what?”

  The officer gestured to Francis who turned the phone around and showed a video of Draven beating on the outside of Joe’s door and threatening me.

  “Oh,” the officer said, no longer looking friendly. “Lots of different charges, Mr. Cirone. But first on the list would be making a false police report. Then assault. We can sort out the rest of the details once your arm gets treated. First, let me read you your rights. You have the right to remain silent…”

  The officer standing with Joe grudgingly removed the handcuffs and I sped across the distance between us. He saw me coming and opened his arms with a welcoming smile. When I reached him, the rest of the world just disappeared. He embraced me so tightly I could hardly breathe. Then he released me and took my face in his hands.

  “You okay, baby?” He wiped my tears away with his thumbs and looked me over with a furrowed brow. His voice dropped an octave. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”

  “No, how ‘bout you?” I looked at his hands to see if he’d injured himself while pummeling my jackass of an ex-husband. He looked completely unscathed.

  “Not a scratch on me.” I saw someone lurking in my peripheral vision and figured it was a cop. Frustrated at the intrusion, I turned with a frown and saw it was Francis. At the sight of his casual grin, I lit up with joy. I stepped away from Joe and pulled Francis into a hug.

  “Come here you adorable man. I could kiss you on the mouth.”

  “Yeah, let’s not and say we did.” Joe chimed in and I chose to ignore him.

  “Thank God you were here. And the video! Brilliant!” I continued.

  Francis shrugged with his typical self-depreciating flair. “Joe called me. He said if anyone turned up here besides you I was supposed to call 911. The minute that lunatic banged on Joe’s door I called the police. While he was raving like a loon, I popped open my door and started recording him.”