by K. J. Dahlen
I slump in the chair thinking about Dad’s words. This is the first time in a long time that he’s tried to talk to me. Not shout. Not swear, but just talk. I nod my head and know it’s time for me to step up.
“You wanted out of this business, but as I said to you before, Marco. There’s no getting out of it. This is in your blood.”
Now, I’m the one hanging up. Just because I’m part of the Raco family doesn’t make me a monster. I’ve had blood on my hands before; this won’t be the first and last time that I do it, but I don’t want to be a part of this anymore. I didn’t back then, and I certainly don’t want to right now.
17
Marco
As soon as we finished the video chat, I hesitated for a minute about my next steps. I wanted to know who sent Leah or the reason for her coming to the island. The suspense is killing me, and I didn’t have the patience of a saint.
“David, I’m in the office,” I say as I pick up my phone to call him. He didn’t respond as he hung up and I impatiently wait in my office.
He’s a man of few words, but right now, everything feels as if it’s spiraling out of control and I feel as if I’m going to lose my fucking mind. Only Friday, I was thinking about finding love once again, and today, I’m thinking about how to kill one man and fucking torturing a woman.
I get bored playing with the ball that’s firmly in the palm of my hand. One minute I’m trying to shoot a hoop and the next, I’m bouncing it against the wall. Then there is a knock on the door.
My gut feeling’s to get rid of both Steven and fucking Leah. Maybe Dad’s right and as much as I don’t want to be a gangster, I fear that it’s in my fucking blood. Just like Dad said, he questioned me about leaving the business. Told me that I’d come running back and I laughed at the time. I thought the blood that I wiped from my hands allowed me to be free, but it’s far from it. I know now that I’m stuck in this life.
Even if I want to get out, they’ll be another Steven or a Leah wanting revenge, and after I’ve cleared out this mess, there’ll be no choice but to go back to it. The reality of the situation is that Valentino won’t be happy after I’ve killed Steven. He’ll want his revenge.
What a fucking mess!
“Boss?” David asks as if he’s agitated as he enters my office. The room that we were talking about earlier and everything seemed so fucking clear. Now, it feels the opposite, and like him, I start to get agitated too.
“Steven, he’s making a show of himself.”
David sits down. “So I heard.” Then he crosses his arms as if he’s questioning his reason for being in the office.
I’ve told him part of the puzzle, but not all of it. “I need to leave.”
He sighs. “You want me to take care of her.”
I nod, but then shake my head. I wonder if we want the same thing, I do want him to take care of her, but not to kill her. If it does come to that, the blood will be on my hands and not his. Somehow, I feel as if I’ve completely lost my way as far as Leah’s concerned. If it were any other girl, I would have done the deed by now. I wouldn’t be sending them to their room. That part I’m sure about. “Make sure she doesn’t escape, and I’ll deal with her when I get back.” I stand up as if to confirm that this is the end of the meeting.
“When will that be?” he asks as he follows suit and stands up.
“I wish I fucking knew, David. We’ll look for him and then bring him back here.”
“What the fuck for?” He blurts out, “Why bring him here?”
I dismiss him as he confirms exactly what I’ve been thinking, that I’m getting too soft and I know it has something to do with Leah more than it does with old age. “I’ll figure it out once I have him.”
He shakes his head as he starts heading toward the door. “You better figure it out before you get him. Otherwise, things are not going to go down well, and I don’t want anything with my name on it.”
Fuck!
Even David is threatening me, and it should be the other way around, but I know he’s right. There’s no way this can come back to either of us. I know if it does not only is my life at risk, but so is my whole family’s. I know my dad hasn’t forgiven me for leaving the business. If things were so out of control, there’s no way he’ll ever forgive me for bringing more problems to our family.
I head out as to leave the island the moment Dad and I disconnected on the video chat. Leah will have to wait, and I don’t give a shit if it takes a week or even a year and she misses her shifts at the diner. The shit has hit the fan, at the same time that I think I’ll be getting over her and moving on with my life. I didn’t expect to be going ten steps backward and not being able to do anything good with my life.
Maybe Dad is right, and I am part of the mobster life. I’ve it planted in me from the roots like a potato deep into the ground. No matter how much I tried to pull them out and move on. It was always going to come and haunt me like a bad smell. No matter how much spray I use to try and get rid of it. I’m kidding myself; it just wouldn’t go away.
I’m not protecting Steven; he doesn’t fucking deserve it. It is more about his family. The innocent ones, the wife who thought he’d never cheated on her and the kids who probably think they’re going to college. Everyone’s in the dark about the true nature of Steven. They probably think, like me, that he’s a good guy. One that’ll look after them. They don’t know that he’s the complete opposite. Someone who would stab you in the dark or take everything from you and then lie through his teeth. I had grown a conscience over the years. Before, I wouldn’t have cared. I would have decided Steven had crossed the line and I would make him pay. Fuck, I wouldn’t even be happy with just making him pay, but his whole family too.
Now, I’m thinking of just getting rid of Steven. I know his family may not realize it at the time. They may think of him as a jewel in their eye. I’ll reveal the women he’s slept with subtly to his wife and leave them alone.
Memories of how Dad tortured all members of the family in front of the guilty person. He wanted the family members to know who’d caused their death and the reason why. At times they would die, due to the sheer shock of having loved ones close to them tortured before their very eyes. Dad hated those; it’s as if they had saved him from carrying out the deed himself and he would make sure they suffered in one way or another. Dad’s version of suffering was not like others.
David’s keeping an eye on Leah. He told me to focus on everything that I’m leaving the island to do. Do I trust David to do the right thing? Sure, he knows I’m not the only one at risk, but from a distance, I’m fucking stuck in the city trying to find Steven. My PI’s acting like my fucking babysitter as we try and figure out how to track down Steven before he does any more damage.
I’ll be putting him out of his misery.
18
Leah
I wake up, and the room is in darkness, I can hear him breathing at the side of the bed. I didn’t want to get out of bed. Fear creeps inside of me when I opened my eyes earlier, and I saw the driver, David at the side of the bed.
Not Marco.
But David.
I expected the time that we’d spent together to be so precious that Marco would want to just be with me and then he’d forget about knowing something was wrong. I’d been racking my brain trying to figure out when I’d let it slip. I’d been so careful up until now, and I still don’t understand how he figured it out.
“I know you’re awake.” David sighed and folded his arms and legs as he faced me. Before he was looking at the door. I wonder what was on the other side?
Did they set-up a trap for me?
Something that’s been playing on my mind. I decide that I’m going to stop playing games and just face my worst fears, which include whatever Marco has in mind for me. “David?”
He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t like this as much as you do. If you just tell us the truth, then you can go.”
I nearly choke on my spit as I lift up the
covers making sure that none of my body is exposed, but then I don’t know how long he’s been sitting there. If he wanted to see me naked, then he could have done it a long time ago. Then again, I doubt he has any interest in me. The way he’s looking at me. It makes me feel as if I’m a piece of dirt. Something stuck at the bottom of his shoe that he’s desperate to get rid of it.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say innocently thinking that I’ll appeal to his better nature. The dark way he’s looking at me is starting to make me feel more nervous as my hands start to shake.
“You know exactly what I mean. You’ve been sent here by someone. And you went to a lot of trouble to get a fake ID, Dana. That didn’t work well. I know someone sent you, and so does Marco. He just wants to know who. As soon as you decide to tell us the truth. Then you can go.”
“Alive or dead?” I ask as my voice starts to tremble.
He draws closer to me and whispers, “That’s up to you.”
My heart skips a beat as he drags the covers that are hiding my naked body.
He sighs. “Not bad. But not good enough to keep lying. He knows you’re hiding something and if you want to keep your body looking the way that it does, then I suggest you start talking. You need something. Find me. It’s only you and I here, and I have the key to the one boat and plane that can get you off this island. Remember that if you think of trying anything.” He backs away before I even have a chance to respond.
I wait for him to close the door. Then I run to it, ignoring the fact that I’m naked and wonder what the hell I’m going to do about it.
As I lock the door, I remember my cell. I run to my purse and then search for it as if my life depends on it. Maybe David was dramatic, and things won’t end up being so bad, but then I remember the darkness in his eyes and think that I’m deluding myself. He meant exactly what he said when he said that if I try anything, there’ll be consequences. The reality of my situation hits me as I try to turn my phone on.
I need to leave whether my life depends on it or not because it’ll be better than whatever David has in store for me.
As I’m dressed in only the dress that I came in. I see why Marco didn’t want me to have clothes. He didn’t want me to escape. I debated about having a shower, but I knew I didn’t have time for that. David was lurking around the island somewhere, and I didn’t want him to catch me.
What was I thinking?
Three years it’d seemed so simple. Make him fall in love with me and then I’ll get what I need and he what he deserves. As I wandered outside the room and down the hall. I found myself feeling as if someone was watching me. I’d felt it before, as I walked into the hallway, but I felt like a star back then. As if I were giving them a show. Letting Marco flaunt me as I was a prized toy was easy at first.
I felt as if he was mine, just because he’d brought me to the island. He’d spent money on me, and he took my virginity.
A wave of panic enters as I start to feel as if I’m trapped in a maze. One minute I’m going up the stairs and the next down again. Some of the doors open and others don’t. Maybe David’s sitting outside laughing at me. Loud and clear. Thinking that he’d told me to make a decision and so far, I was making the wrong one.
This was one house, owned by my worst enemy. I’d seen one too many libraries, gyms, eating areas and they all led me to believe that Marco wasn’t the only person who lived in this house.
The bedrooms are minimal. Apart from the one that I am staying in, and another one, which I assume is Marco’s. There’s more bathrooms, and rooms rather than sleeping rooms. Then again, I don’t know what’s behind some of the doors. They’re locked from the inside, and I can’t help but wonder if people are behind them.
I stand and listen as I knock and try to get into one of them.
I’m sure that I can hear steps on the other side. Then again, maybe, it’s paranoia as I turn to see that no one’s walking behind me.
I expect David to pop-up from behind the door and tell me that I’m not helping anyone. There’s only one reason why he’s here and not Marco because we are alone on the island. I’m sure if Marco were here then David wouldn’t talk to me that way. He wouldn’t get the chance to do it. Now, I wonder if maybe I’m wasting my energy and this is impossible.
I think about the last three years.
Coming up with this stupid plan and it has all been in vain. One weekend and it is all over. I turn to face the island, and that’s when I think that I see a boat on the shore. I flip off my shoes and head toward it.
David was just scaring me, he’s done a good job, but I am going to get off this island and make them all pay for what they did to me.
I have a get out card, and I intend to use it. Next time, I’ll make sure I get it right. I fucked up this time, but I’ll make sure the next time I’m better prepared. It was a stupid plan, a childhood dream to think that I’ll just charm Marco and then everything would fall into my hands.
I’d given him the one thing I’d planned on giving and more. He’s a dangerous man, and I knew that the moment I came on the island, yet I thought I had him in my hand.
I’m not much of a runner, but then I feel as if everything depends on me getting to the boat. The more I run to it, the further I feel that it moves from my grip. I know that it’s all in my imagination as sweat starts to pour from my forehead. The island’s temperature feels as if it’s increasing by the minute and as soon as I stretch out my hand to get on the boat.
David is lying on the boat, that’s when he stands up and barks, “I told you that you only had one choice and that was to talk. It seems that you wanted to do something else. Something that you really shouldn’t have done.”
That’s when I feel a hand whack across my face. The next thing I know it is dark and I know that I will probably never see the light ever again.
19
Marco
We had around two leads over the last couple of days, and both of them have resulted in the same thing. Nothing!
I’m fucking getting fed up with it all, and I feel as if I should just let Valentino do exactly what he intends to do. Because I’m done. I’m here running around the city as if I know what I’m doing, but the truth of the matter is that I’m no closer to making a decision than I was when I first flew out here.
“Marco, what do you want to do?”
Rick, my PI asks as I can tell what’s going through his mind, even he’s encouraged me to get Dad and Valentino to sort it out. I’m trying to be the good guy, but I’m failing fucking miserably because it’s too fucking late. I should have done it years ago. Tried to leave the business, but I never did. Now that Silvia is dead, I want to be the good guy. It’s too fucking late. Dad is fucking right. I hate to admit it. But that’s the only explanation for the reason why I’m failing. “What do you think I should do Rick?”
He sighs. “You know that there’s only one road to go and that’s the one you’re avoiding, but you can’t fucking do it, Marco. Not now. You need help, and I’m just a one-man band. One that’s too old and tired for this shit.”
I point to him. “See you want out of it too.”
He signals at the bartender, ignoring my question. But as he takes off his cap and scratches his balding head, It’s clear he doesn’t want anything to do with the business. Let alone tracking Steven down. “You’re in over your head. First, you decide to take that girl to the island, then you want me to dig up shit on her. You didn’t even go over what I sent you. Did you?”
I shrug as I confess that I only paid attention to some parts, but not all of them.
“Drink up!” He points to the drink and then turns to face me. The bar is nearly empty. It’s at the back part of town. Only local construction workers mainly drink here, and it’s too early for them to be out drinking. But no doubt they’ll be turning up soon, which suits me fine, because I don’t like where this conversation’s heading. Not with Rick. Not now, especially with David not picking up his phone either.
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br /> I wonder if he’s gone and done something silly with Leah. Then again, the way I’m feeling right now. I don’t think that I fucking care. Maybe he’s doing me a favor. Doing something I’m too scared to do at the moment.
I take a swing of the drink and then tap it on the bar, thinking it’s touched the right nerves and settled me down a little, but not enough total on board whatever Rick has to say about the subject.
“You take Steven’s stepdaughter to the island, and then you want us to find the man himself. I don’t fucking—”
I hold up the once filled glass as the tender replaces it. “What did you say?”
He puts his hand on his hip and takes off his cap as he repeats, “Steven’s stepdaughter. She’s on the island with you.”
“Who?”
He rubs his head. “Leah. The one that work’s in the diner. The one with the crappy fake ID.”
I nearly choke as I say, “But you told me that she had a fake ID of Dana something. That was it. I don’t remember there being a conversation about her being Steven’s stepdaughter.”
He takes out his phone from his back pocket and then hands it to me.
Dana is some fake ID. Her real name’s Leah Hopes. But she’s Steven’s stepdaughter. She never changed her name. Be careful.
I look at my phone and realize that I fucking deleted it. I got the message and remember reading about the fake ID and then getting rid of the message. For some reason, I thought it said something else. Not what I’m reading now. What the fuck is wrong with me?
I’d never made such a shit decision.
“Do you think that Steven sent her to me?”
Rick lifts up his glass and then hesitates for a minute and asks, “Who suggested you go away together?”
“I did,” I say as my mind starts to replay what happened not so long ago. Did I think of this as a good thing to do?