Revengeful Deceptions

by Ursula Dukes

  He was sure by now that DiNunzio had gotten it out of Dominique what happened to the money and he was going to have to shut her up for good before she could cause any more damage. Yeah, he'd get rid of her then take off. I'd better do it as soon as possible, he told himself. Christmas is coming and I want to be on some tropical island with some hot chick rubbing suntan oil all over me by the time it gets here. He would soon get his chance.

  Adam true to his word did not let Dominique out of his sight. On the days when he was due in court he would make sure that either his father or Neal would be there to keep an eye on her and at the end of the day, he never let her walk to her car alone.

  “Adam, I love all this attention you’re giving me but maybe it's a bit too much?”

  She didn’t want to be a burden on her husband or anyone else for that matter.

  Adam turned to his wife and placed his hand on her belly. “Dominique I’m your husband and soon I’ll be a dad, it's my job to protect you and the baby, so please let me.”

  “Well when you put it that way.” She laughed returning his embrace.

  “But I do need to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping Adam, and I can't have you around when we do it, any suggestions?” She said smiling up at him.

  “Sure, online shopping,” he said with a smirk. Adam knew that his wife loved the big crowds of holiday shoppers and wouldn’t want to miss all the hustle and bustle.

  “Very funny,” she said, playfully punching him.

  “No? Okay how about this, we invite Molly and Neal to come along with us and Neal and I will stay close but not close enough to spy on any gifts, deal?”

  “Sounds perfect Adam, thank you.”

  “Dominique I’d do anything for you, you know that right? Anything,” he said. She could see the seriousness in his eyes.

  “I know you would Adam.”

  Joey found himself parking outside the condo each day waiting for Dominique to come out alone. But each day he was disappointed to find that her husband seemed to accompany her everywhere and that was going to be a problem.

  He had no reason to take out the husband, just her. Joey cursed and had to slump down in the seat of his SUV when he saw Adam and Dominique drive by. “He can't be with you 24/7 bitch. Looks like I’m going to have to step things up if I want to get the fuck out of here by Christmas.”

  Monday morning found Dominique crouched over the toilet, she had hoped the morning sickness would not arrive so early in the pregnancy but deep down she knew that it was inevitable, that was the one thing she could pretty much count on, with each of her pregnancies, the morning sickness was almost immediate.

  Adam did his best to try and make her feel better but there was no way she was going to be able to go to work.

  “Dominique are you sure you don’t need a doctor?” Adam asked frowning at the sight of his wife on her knees and hugging the toilet.

  Dominique reached for the cool washcloth that he'd given her.

  “No baby it'll pass, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it into work today.”

  “Dominique don’t worry about that, just let me just clear my schedule and I’ll stay home with you.”

  “Adam no, you've got to be in court this morning and besides I’ll be perfectly fine I promise.”

  He felt leery of leaving his wife home alone.

  “But I made a promise to you.”

  “And you’re keeping your promise; you're keeping me and the baby safe.

  We'll be fine, I’ll keep all the doors and windows locked and I won't set foot out of the house, I promise, “she said heaving once more.

  Adam wanted to be there to take care of his wife but he also had a client that needed him in court this morning. “Only if you’re sure,” he said while checking the time on his watch.

  “Yes I’m sure. Besides, seeing one's spouse hunched over the toilet is not the most attractive thing to watch so go, I beg of you.”

  Dominique managed a slight smile before clutching her stomach and leaning over the bowl again.

  Adam waited for his wife to recover before kissing her on the forehead.

  “Okay, but the minute I’m out of court I’m coming home. I can work from here the rest of the day. Please call if you need anything honey and my mom is just a phone call away too.”

  Dominique nodded her head. “Yes, yes now go.”

  “Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can baby, I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she said the nausea back with a vengeance.

  While Adam made his way to court, he left messages with Neal informing him that Dominique was home alone and if he could find the time to check on her. I'm sure she'll be fine, he told himself as he drove towards the courthouse. An hour later, Dominique found herself finally able to leave the bathroom. The nausea had subsided and she managed to pour herself a glass of ginger ale and chew on some crackers. While making her way to the sofa, her cell phone rang.

  “Adam called this morning and told Neal you were home alone and weren’t feeling well. I was calling to check up on you.”

  “That's sweet Molly. Yes I'm doing better, I’m just feeling a little weak. I’ve been in the bathroom for the past hour and a half with morning sickness.”

  “You poor thing, is there anything I can do? Do you need me to bring you anything?” Molly asked her friend.

  “No thanks, I think I am going to pour myself some more ginger ale and spend the day on the sofa but you can call me and keep me company whenever you can.”

  “Will do. Besides it's pretty slow here for a Monday. I'll call you in a little while, get some rest Dom.”

  “Thanks Molly, bye.”

  Settled on the sofa and watching television was just the thing she needed as Dominique found her eyelids getting heavy and sleep soon called to her.

  Joey could hardly believe it when he saw Adam coming out of the condo alone. “Finally,” He said. “Now all I have to do is wait a few hours, make sure hubby doesn’t come back and that no one stops by and I’ve got her all to myself. Got everything I need right here and if I need anything else, I’ll improvise,” he said to himself as he grabbed his black duffel bag filled with knives, duct tape and plastic cable ties.

  But first I’ve got to make a little stop, can't go in empty handed. Joey eyed the small florist shop down the street. He'd leave his bag of goodies in the car, purchase a large bouquet of flowers, retrieve his bag and then pay Dominique a visit.

  A little before noon the ringing of her cell phone woke Dominique. She had fallen asleep on the couch.

  “Hey Dom, just checking on you, how ya feeling?”

  Dominique smiled. “I'm feeling much better thanks. The morning sickness made me sleepy, I just woke up. Have you seen Adam? Has he come back from court yet?”

  “I'm glad you got your rest and no he's not back yet but he should be any time now, I’ll tell him to call when he gets here.”

  “Thanks Mol, I’m not sure if he's going to come home or stop at the office so if he does just tell him that I’m here and that I’m safe. Oh hang on, there's someone at the door.”

  Molly immediately cautioned her friend. “Dominique please check to see who it is first,” she urged.

  Dominique couldn’t help but smile; she loved the way her friend was so concerned about her. “Of course. Don’t worry, it's probably Muriel. Dominique focused her eye on the peephole. "Awww, it’s a giant bouquet of flowers,” she beamed.

  “Well aren’t you lucky? “I'll stay on the phone with you until the delivery guy is gone.”

  Dominique was smiling when she unlocked and opened the door. But as Joey lowered the large bouquet, she instinctively placed her hands on her belly and let out a stunned gasp. Joey dropped the flowers and forced his way inside.

  Molly heard her friend shout, “Get out!” before the line went dead. The color left her face as she frantically dialed Neal's number. Neal tried to sound as calm as possible, he could hear the anxiety in his fiancé’s voice.
“Molly, I’m all the way across town but I’m on my way. Get Adam on the phone and tell him what's going on. Call the police and send them over there.”

  Adam was just leaving court with his client when his cell phone rang.

  “Oh hey Molly, what's up?”

  “Adam get home now, someone's broken in!"

  Adam did not wait for her to finish speaking; he hung up the phone and raced to his car.

  “I told you what would happen if you told anybody about me Dominique.” Joey had managed to wrap duct tape around her mouth and hands. Dominique shook her head wildly as she struggled to get free.

  She could taste the blood in her mouth from the heavy punch that Joey had landed on her. She wanted to beg him to stop, to tell him that she was pregnant and that she would never mention his name again but she couldn't. She kept letting her mind go to the conversation she had with Stephen when she lie unconscious after the accident. One more hurdle Dominique, your husband will be there to protect you.

  Joey paced back and forth as he tried to figure out what to do next, he wasn’t expecting her to be left alone but when he saw Adam leaving by himself this morning he couldn’t help but seize the opportunity. This may be my only chance, he told himself when he tied her up. The question now was how the hell was he going to get rid of her. He had left his guns hidden back at the hotel.

  "Oh well, I guess we'll have to improvise." He grinned down at Dominique.

  “God didn’t give me these two strong hands for nothing,” he said gripping his knife and making a slicing gesture towards her.

  The traffic on Main St. was bumper to bumper as Adam tried to fight his way through it. “Move out of the fucking way!” He shouted at any and all vehicles blocking his way. He could hear police sirens in the distance but had no way of knowing if they were responding to Molly's call to get to the condo, or not.

  But, when he glanced in the rear view mirror, he saw no flashing lights. No one seemed to be paying him any attention as he pounded his fists on the steering wheel, Dominique was in danger and if he wasn’t able to get there in time, he would fail her and his baby again.

  “I can't let that happen goddammit,” he cursed as he checked the glove compartment of his car and removed the gun he had purchased shortly after they had returned home from Nantucket.

  He and his father spent hours at the shooting range perfecting his aim. “Son you've got a family to protect now,” his father told him. “And as I told you years ago, a man will do anything to protect his family.” Adam stepped on the gas pedal and jumped onto the curb.

  Tears streamed down her eyes as Dominique sat tied up and helpless as Joey made his way through the condo pulling out drawers and going through she and Adam's belongings like a bear searching for food. He was sure there were valuables stored in the house and was greedy and desperate to find them. Even when Dominique shook her head no, he didn’t believe her.

  “A nice place like this, your husband a lawyer, there's no way in hell there ain't no valuables here and you look pretty high maintenance to not demand some pretty expensive things. Why that rock on your finger alone is worth a shit load of money but don’t worry, I’ll wait till your dead before I remove it,” he said with a smirk so sickening it made her stomach churn.

  “Now I’m going to remove that gag but just long enough for you to tell me where the expensive shit is, make a sound, and I’ll cut your fucking head off you got it?”

  Dominique stared at him viciously while she nodded her head in agreement. “Now where the fuck are the valuables?” He threatened.

  “I swear we don’t have any, there's nothing except my ring. Take it and leave please I won’t say anything. I’m pregnant, please I just want you to leave my family alone. I swear to you, I won’t say a word, I’m no hero.” Dominique pleaded.

  “No can do pretty lady. You should have kept your mouth shut. So there are no valuables just that ring huh? Well I told you I’d wait until you were dead to pry it off your fingers so let’s get this party started then huh?” As Joey walked slowly towards her, Dominique saw her only chance and lunged forward off the couch and onto the floor. If she could get to the balcony she could at least scream and get some attention, maybe hold him off long enough for help to arrive.

  “Not so fast bitch.” Joey grabbed for her legs, pulling her down. Dominique struggled against the duct tape around her hands and unable to free them, she used her bound hands and free legs to hit and kick Joey until finally she was able to get a strong kick into his groin causing him to fall over in pain.

  “You fucking bitch, I’m going to cut your fucking throat,” he screamed. Joey began searching for the knife that Dominique had managed to kick out of his hand. Pure adrenaline caused her to do the same and as they both eyed and reached for it at the same time, a loud bursting sound came through the door and Dominique could see her husband come bounding into the room.

  Ignoring the shouts to put down his weapon, Joey gripped the knife tight and made a final lunge towards Dominique. The shot rang out before all went silent.

  Joey Costa was on his knees and fell with a heavy thud as the lone bullet struck him in the back of the head. Dominique, who was still on the floor trying to catch her breath, rolled out of the way just in time. Relief flooded her thoughts as she looked at Joey lying there dead on the floor.

  It wasn't until they were alone in her hospital room that Dominique and Adam were able to talk.

  “Dominique it's all over baby. You were so very brave honey, I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. I tried so hard to get to you as fast as I could, but the traffic, it was just so ...”

  “Adam, I was so scared but when I looked up and saw your face, I knew that everything was going to be alright, baby, I knew that you would save us.” Dominique placed a hand on her belly.

  He looked away and let out a heavy sigh. “Dominique I thought I was going to lose you and the baby.”

  “Adam look at me, you're our hero and don’t you forget it,” she said taking his hand and along with hers, placing it on her belly.

  “You are an amazing woman Dominique.”

  “Adam, before I met you I was so blinded by hate and revenge that I didn’t want anything else. But then I fell for you almost instantly, and god Adam, so much has happened since then and I feel like it was a lifetime ago,” she cried.

  “Dominique we can finally put everything behind us, well everything except the good parts,” he grinned. “We don’t have to worry about any of those low lives anymore and that includes DiNunzio. From now on baby it's going to be me, you, and the baby that's all I care about. I love you.”

  “I love you too Adam, but I can't go back to the condo, I just can't. I know it’s our home but I’m just not ready to face going back there, just the thought of what could have happened scares me, can we go to a hotel or something, please?”

  Chapter Forty

  Adam could see the emotion in his wife's eyes. “We don’t have to go back to the condo. But instead of staying at a hotel, how would you feel about staying at the Wellesley house? I mean my grandparents will be there by now but we'd have the run of the place and I know how much you love that house and with Christmas being in a couple weeks we could have a mini vacation, what do you say?”

  “Adam that would be wonderful, but make sure it’s okay with your parents first alright?”

  “You’re kidding right? He laughed. “Dominique my family loves you more than they love me, they'll be so excited to hear that we're coming early. And while we're there baby, we might see if we can look at some houses in the area, you know for our new family? I hear Wellesley is a great place to raise a family,” he winked.

  “Adam you read my mind, thank you!”

  “Dominique all I want is for you to be happy; you deserve some serious happiness in your life after all that you've been through.”

  “I'd have to agree with you on that one Adam, but I’d change one thing, WE deserve to be happy. Now let's call your parents an
d find out how soon we can go to Wellesley.”

  Dominique couldn't have been happier; Adam's grandparents welcomed them into the house as if they were long lost relatives who they haven’t seen in years. Within the first few moments of their arrival, no one would let Dominique lift a finger. They all doted over her as if she were nine months pregnant instead of two. Christmas Eve found the Caruso's in a house filled to the brim with friends and family.

  Adam felt as if he could burst with joy, not only was he surrounded by loving friends and family, but he was happy because he knew that this time next year, he and Dominique would have a family of their own.

  In bed that night, Dominique fell into a deep sleep. Her sleep soon brought her into a dream. She was back at the crash site, but this time she saw her boys, and together they were smiling and holding a beautiful baby girl. She felt her heart swell up and the tears began to fall.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure moving towards them, she screamed and yelled to warn them but her screams went unnoticed. Dominique tried to look away as the figure moved closer but she couldn’t take her eyes off of her family, she had to make sure they would be okay.

  Suddenly a man jumped down from the tree and using just his hands, managed to slay the black figure causing it to turn to dust and disappear. As she moved closer towards the tree and the strange man, Dominique immediately recognized him, it was Adam. And he was the bright light that had protected her and her family from the darkness. Tears flowed freely from her as she embraced the light that surrounded him and kissed his face.

  A light touch on her shoulder pulled her out of the dream. When she opened her eyes, she saw Adam looking at her with concern in his eyes.

  “Are you alright? You were sobbing and calling out my name, did you have a nightmare baby?

  “It was a wonderful dream,” she said sitting up resting her head in the crook of his shoulder.

  When she told him about her dream she realized that he was her hero now and forever. And he would become an even bigger hero to their son or daughter.