The Beautiful People (The New Mafia Trilogy)

by Fechenda, E. J.

  “I can’t leave, remember? Besides, would I really leave my purse, my car and you behind?” I smiled at this last part to let him know his apology was accepted. He smiled a huge smile and I couldn’t help but walk up and kiss him, even though I felt gross and didn’t want any close contact. His dimples were impossible to resist. “Now please stop all the crazy stuff,” I said sternly as we separated.

  I shook my head at Dominic’s silliness as I walked down the hall to our bedroom. My ponytail swung back and forth like a pendulum. The sweatshirt was yanked off before I even walked into the bedroom. The shower was calling my name.

  Hot water coursed over my body and rinsed the sweat off. The heat relaxed my muscles and the exhaustion from missing a night of sleep set in. Dominic came into the bathroom and leaned against the vanity.

  “Hey baby?” he asked.

  “Yeah?” I answered as I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair.

  “Wanna go to the haunted house thing at Eastern State Penitentiary tomorrow night?”

  “Sure, that sounds awesome! I hear it’s really scary.” Dominic and I both like horror movies and anything paranormal. We were looking forward to the costume party at Crimson. Apparently everyone went all out for it. We were going to dress up as Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. In the past my Halloween costumes were lame because I was always broke, but that wasn’t going to be the case this year.

  “Cool, I’ll make the arrangements,” he stood up to leave the room, but not before peeking in the shower first. I splashed water at his bare chest and he laughed as he attempted to dodge the droplets. He was still laughing when he left the room.

  A line wrapped around the corner of Eastern State Penitentiary. The old prison was modeled after ancient European castles and looked out of place on Fairmount Avenue. The neighborhood had grown around it and the fortress loomed over the row homes and businesses that surrounded it. Parking was hard to find, but Dominic expertly navigated his Mustang into a space on a narrow, one way street, that looked like it might have been an alley at one point. We had to walk several blocks to the Penitentiary. Even though it was almost ten at night, and a Tuesday, the line was long. I walked up to stand in line, but Dominic grabbed my hand and we continued walking past the crowd to the front.

  “What are you doing?” I asked and tried tugging him back. You didn’t want to cut in lines in Philadelphia because the residents were quick to turn on you and not afraid to express their opinion on the matter.

  “My Dad knows the accountant…we don’t have to wait,” he informed me.

  “Figures. That is so typical.” I said and rolled my eyes. Laughing, Dom walked up to the ticket taker at the entrance and handed him a card. The guy waved us through. I could hear the people waiting in line start to grumble so I hurried through.

  “This is one of the reasons I could never leave Philly; the connections make everything so easy,” Dominic gloated. Ever since our little argument, Dominic had picked up the annoying habit of pointing out everything that was fabulous about living in Philadelphia. He could have worked for the Chamber of Commerce.

  We proceeded down a corridor that seemed endless. I could barely see in front of me and creatures, ghouls and psychopaths lurked in every corner and shadow. I clung to Dom and screamed at every sudden movement. The thrills left me feeling queasy and nervous – I loved it. By the end of the tour, we were laughing at our ridiculousness. Even Dom jumped and got spooked. I continued to hang on his arm as we walked to a corner bar for a quick drink. A cool wind had picked up and Dom’s warmth felt nice.

  The bar was packed too. Many of the patrons had been to the Penitentiary and were sharing stories. Dom found us a table in the back where it was quiet. “I know the owner,” he explained. Of course he did. He held my hand across the table and only took his eyes off of me to order our drinks.

  “That was fun, wasn’t it?” he asked.

  “Oh my God, that was so realistic. They really know how to do it up. I thought that place was creepy enough during the daytime.”

  “Philly has so many cool places,” he started in on the marketing pitch again.

  “Dom, I’m not going anywhere, you don’t have to try to convince me to stay. You sound like a damn tourism commercial for the city.”

  He smiled, his green eyes twinkling. “Was it that obvious?”

  “Uh, yeah!” I couldn’t help but laugh at him. Where he got these notions was beyond me.

  We took our time sipping our drinks. I enjoyed not being at a bar surrounded by Crimson people. The change of scenery was refreshing. When we got up to leave, Dom left a generous tip on the table for the waitress before we squeezed our way through the crowded bar.

  Outside, the neighborhood was quiet. We huddled close against the wind as we walked the few blocks to the car. The narrow street was dimly lit and most of the houses were dark, indicative of the late hour. Dom held the door open for me and shut it as soon as I was settled in the passenger seat. I busied myself with the seatbelt and getting comfortable. Dom slid in and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. Headlights were coming down the road and he sat, waiting for the car to pass before he pulled out. I bent down to scratch my ankle when I heard a car backfire. I thought it was the car coming down the street because it was close. The car backfired again and the driver’s side window imploded. Shards of glass flew through the air in slow motion. I stared at the sparkling fragments, confused. A series of bangs erupted around me. Dominic made an odd gasping sound and slumped against the steering wheel. Something wet splattered against my face.

  I screamed and sunk down in the seat. A bullet whizzed by my ear. Had I not moved, it would have hit me. My window shattered and I was showered in glass. Dominic groaned and clutching his neck, leaned over to the glove compartment. He made another grunting sound and he fell forward against me. That’s when I saw a dark green sedan stopped alongside the Mustang. Both the driver and passenger were firing rounds into the car. I could hear the bullets punching into the steel chassis. We were vulnerable and exposed. I popped open the glove compartment and pulled out Dominic’s handgun. My experience working the gun check taught me how to release the safety and prepared me for the surprisingly dense weight of the piece.

  Without hesitation I started firing back. The sound was deafening. Amazingly, I hit the guy in the passenger seat. He yelped, dropping his piece onto the street. The driver fired a few more rounds and I felt a searing pain in my right shoulder, causing me to almost drop the gun. Lights appeared in the second story windows of several homes, but no one ventured out. This was good, my aim was terrible and I would hate to hit someone with a stray bullet. I fired off one last bullet and it was a direct hit. The passenger’s face looked surprised and his lips formed an “O” before his eyes went vacant and blood started to ooze from a tiny hole in his forehead. He crumpled against the driver who shoved him over, put the car in drive and sped off.

  The neighborhood was eerily quiet, but more lights were coming on. Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I contemplated my next move before hysteria and shock took over. I needed to get us out of here.

  “Dom, baby? Can you hear me?” He moaned and tried to sit up. Instead he rolled over so his head was in my lap. He was struggling to breath and making a horrible sucking sound every time he inhaled. He was still holding his neck and staring up at me. “We need to go,” he wheezed. I nodded and cradled his head while I slid out from beneath. My fingers were sticky with blood when I removed them from his head.

  My shoulder burned, but I ignored the pain. I only had a few seconds to act before someone came out of their house or the cops showed up. I jumped out of the car and ran round to the driver’s side. After throwing my back into it, I succeeded in shoving Dom over enough for me to get behind the wheel. Thank God the car was already running because my shaking hands would never have been able to get the keys in the ignition. I threw the car into drive and pulled out onto the street. As soon as I was clear of the parked
cars, I floored it. One bad thing about Dom’s car was that it was a classic and very identifiable. I needed to get off the roads fast and get Dom to a hospital even faster.

  Dom curled up on the seat and I kept one hand on him with the other on the steering wheel, paying more attention to the sounds of his breathing than the road. I don’t know how many red lights I ran. At least the side streets weren’t policed as often as the main roads, like Broad St. I fished Dominic’s cell out of his jacket pocket. It took me three tries to dial Grant’s number.

  He answered on the fourth ring. “Yo, Dom, what’s up?”

  “Grant!” I screamed. Just hearing his voice was causing me to fall apart and I couldn’t afford to lose it yet. “Dom’s been shot! He needs to go to the hospital.” I cursed the tears that were pouring down my face and blurring my vision.

  Grant was all business. “Where are you?”

  I could barely make out the street signs as I passed through an intersection. I just went past Sansom, I’m heading south on 12th St. I’m taking him to Pennsylvania Hospital.”

  “No you can’t do that!” He yelled. “The cops will be all over him.”

  “But I think he’s dying!” I yelled back at him.

  “Come to our house. I’ll be out front.”

  “Stay on the phone with me. I don’t know if I can make it.” Grant stayed on the phone and spoke in a calm, rational voice, which helped me to focus on the road. A hell of a lot of good it would do if I wrecked the car.

  The Mustang screeched to a halt in front of Grant and Miranda’s townhouse, Grant was already running into the street, Miranda right behind him, her face pinched and pale with worry.

  “Get in the back,” he ordered. I complied and clumsily climbed over the seat as Grant took over behind the wheel. Miranda opened the back door and sat down next to me. I was covered in blood. It was hard to tell which was mine and which was Dom’s.

  Miranda gasped. “Natalie, you’ve been shot too!” She leaned over to inspect the damage. Grant whipped his head around to look.

  “What! Holy shit, are you ok?”

  “I’m fine,” I snapped. “Just pay attention to the road.” Grant was speeding through South Philly, the neighborhoods whizzed by in a blur. My shoulder ached and I felt sick to my stomach.

  “I need to lie down,” I whispered, feeling faint. Miranda helped me and guided my head onto her lap. She ran her hands through my hair, picking out bits of glass, the repetitive motion was comforting. My pulse beat loudly in my head and everything shifted in and out of focus.

  “I killed someone,” I murmured.

  “What Nat? What did you say?” Miranda was leaning down over me.

  “I killed someone,” my voice sounded very far away. The adrenaline was wearing off, being replaced by shock and making my eyelids heavy. Then everything went black.

  Chapter 31

  I woke when the Mustang slammed to a stop and Miranda got out. A chorus of panicked voices filled the car and I felt it rock. I managed to open my eyes enough to see Dominic being lifted out by his father and Dr. Russo. Then the door by me opened and Grant was peering in at me.

  “Can you walk?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  He held his hand out and I latched on. He half pulled me out of the car and my legs shook when I stood. Dizziness swirled around my head and I felt myself getting sucked under again. I remembered Grant swearing before he scooped me into his arms.

  Voices faded in and out. Two men were arguing and then a woman was crying. Just as I was making sense of the words, unconsciousness wrapped its arms around me again. Time passed and I hovered just underneath the surface. My shoulder was on fire, a slow burn that steadily built until it felt like millions of hot needles were jabbing repeatedly, deep through the muscle and tissue. Eventually the pain forced my eyelids open.

  The room was brightly lit and hurt my eyes. I quickly closed them and slowly eased my eyelids open, allowing time to adjust. I looked around the room and realized I had been here before. I was lying on the examination table in Dr. Russo’s office. The door was open and I could hear hushed voices drifting down the hall. I attempted to sit up, but between the searing pain in my shoulder and the pounding in my head, I was immobilized.

  “Hello?” I called out. The voices stopped and I could hear someone running down the hall. Grant appeared in the doorway. His long sleeved, blue shirt was stained with patches of dried blood. He looked anxious and exhausted.

  “Hey,” I smiled weakly.

  “Natalie, you’re awake!” Grant came and stood by my side. “How do you feel?” he asked while studying my face.

  “I feel like I’ve been hit by a train…how’s Dominic?”

  “It was touch and go there for a while, but Dr. Russo worked his magic. Dom was shot in the neck and it nicked his carotid artery. He was close to bleeding out. He also took a bullet in the chest and it collapsed his lung. Fortunately, he’s stable now.” Relief washed over me.

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Almost a day. Dr. Russo kept you sedated so you wouldn’t move around too much. You’re lucky, the bullet passed clean through your shoulder.”

  “If I was lucky I wouldn’t have been shot in the first place.” He smirked like I had just made a funny. I hadn’t.

  “Natalie, what the hell happened? Did you see who shot at you?” His questions triggered too many bloody memories and I started to tremble. I closed my eyes, hoping to block the images, but they were in my head and closing my eyes didn’t make a difference. “You don’t have to tell me now, but I will need to know eventually,” he said when I didn’t respond to his questions. I nodded my head in acknowledgement. Just this slight movement made the pounding worse.

  Grant must have seen the pain register on my face. “Dr. Russo will be in soon. He’s checking on Dominic right now.”

  I opened my eyes and looked at my brother. “Dominic is here?”

  “Yeah. We couldn’t take him to the hospital. Fortunately Dr. Russo is a great doctor. He’s in the next room.”

  I reached my hand out towards Grant. “Help me up.”

  “What?” he asked sounding surprised.

  “Help me up,” I demanded. “I need to go see him.” I winced as I tried to sit up and inhaled sharply. It wouldn’t surprise me if my arm just fell off.

  “I don’t think you should be moving.” He warned as he grabbed me around the waist and helped me off the exam table. I thought the floor was going to rush up and meet me, but Grant kept a firm grip on my good arm. “You are so stubborn,” he grumbled.

  “And you’re not?” He grinned at the return of our brother sister banter and helped me to the door.

  Dr. Russo wasn’t the only person checking on Dominic. His mom and dad sat in chairs by his bedside. Dom’s mom, Angela, held his hand and leaned forward towards him. She didn’t look up when we entered the room, but Rico did.

  “Natalie!” He gave me a light hug, careful not to bump the sling. “How are you feeling?” He whispered, careful not to disturb Dominic.

  “I’m good considering…I’m more worried about Dom. How’s he doing?”

  “Alright. he hasn’t regained consciousness yet, but Dr. Russo has him pretty well sedated.” We all turned to look at the patient of interest. Unlike my exam table, Dominic lay on a hospital bed and was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. Both saline and blood dripped down tubes that led to his arm. Rico turned back to face me. “Thank you, Natalie, for saving him. I don’t think he’d be here right now if it wasn’t for you.” Rico’s green eyes, so much like his son’s, misted up with tears.

  “What happened?” Angela asked from Dominic’s bedside.

  It took me a minute to answer. I felt the blood drain from my face and felt dizzy when I thought about the man I had killed. Grant must have seen me waver and reached out to steady me. “I’m okay,” I reassured him. Dominic’s parents deserved an explanation. After all, if he hadn’t defended my honor, he wouldn’t have h
ad a hit out on him and he wouldn’t be lying there unconscious. I took a deep breath and began. By the time I finished I was shaking uncontrollably and Grant guided me to a chair. Reliving that night was awful and had drained what little energy I had.

  Angela regarded me with her eyes, dark like molasses. “You’re very brave, braver than I could have been in that situation.” I nodded my head. Brave or not I had still killed a man. “Thank you for saving my son.”

  “I think he would have done the same for me.”

  Angela’s eyes flickered slightly and she glanced sideways at Rico. “Of course he would,” she agreed, but it didn’t sound sincere.

  The pounding in my head increased so I leaned back and closed my eyes.

  “Natalie, let me take a look at you.” I looked up to find Dr. Russo was standing over me. “On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you describe your pain level? 10 being the worst.”

  “My shoulder is about a seven and my head a four. Did I bump my head and not remember?”

  “No the sedative can give you a headache when it wears off. Did you want some more pain medicine?”

  “No. I’ll be fine.” I didn’t like how cloudy the pain meds made me feel. It was hard to stay focused on anything. The pain gave my thoughts clarity. I thought about how different my reaction was to this traumatic event. When I was assaulted all I wanted to do was mask the pain with alcohol or drugs. This time I needed to keep my head on straight.

  Dr. Russo escorted me back to my room for a more thorough exam. He removed the bandages from my shoulder and I hissed as the tape tugged against the raw skin. He cleaned the wound, which was an agonizing process and I clenched my jaw tight to keep from screaming.

  “How’s your friend? The one that I treated the last time you were in here?” Dr. Russo asked as he examined my wound.