City in the Middle

by Colleen Green

  When I got home, I changed into comfortable clothes and opened my laptop. I searched the internet and found Adrianna’s picture with a caption below: Alberto Bugiardini’s oldest daughter. I scrolled through the pictures of the wealthy family. They had attended some elite fundraisers. One of the pictures was of Adrianna and Mercedes. Cousins wearing the latest in evening fashion from Dini, the caption read.

  I wondered whether Dini was short for Bugiardini.

  Daisy and Mercedes are friends. How well does Daisy know Adrianna? Has Daisy hung out with Adrianna? Darlene must want me to keep an eye on Daisy because of the company she keeps.

  I continued scrolling through the pictures on the internet. In one of them, Alberto stood with Cassie, Daisy’s boss. The picture was taken during a fundraiser for a children’s hospital. The article was about Alberto, his sister Cassie, and a generous donation the Bugiardini family made, in which they matched the money they raised with a dinner. Cassie was Alberto’s sister. Damn it, Daisy, of all the numerous places in fashion to get a job, why did it have to be with them?

  It seemed surreal that I knew these people. Criminals had intertwined with my world. It was too much at times. I had moved here to make a new home, not make friends who associated with the mafia. But I had.

  I decided to focus on work and try to let it go.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Months passed, and Leo and I never slept together, even though that was my intention the first time we met. After our shared experience of Marta’s tragic end happening within close range of us, we shared a bond. We had become friends. Occasionally he, Fiona, and I would hang out together, but I could only see him as a friend. My initial lustful feelings had subsided when my need to make sure we recovered from Marta’s death took over.

  Leo did recover, and he began to flirt with me more. I made excuses not to see him, trying to avoid the awkward conversation of how he had fallen into the friend category with no hopes of making it out of there. Sleeping with him would be a mistake because our friendship would be ruined. I couldn’t fall in love with a man with mob connections, and I couldn’t be friends with benefits and feel good about myself. I’d kept Leo as a friend, but I wasn’t ready to tell him that even though I knew I would have to eventually.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  One day, I came home holding a bag of ground coffee and creamer. The front door was wide open, with no sign of Fiona nearby. Something was wrong. When I had left, Fiona was home. She would never leave the door open—she was too smart to do that and always said that it was best to keep the door shut and locked in the city, that it was just common sense. Perhaps she’s on her way out and was only leaving it that way for a few seconds.

  “Fiona,” I called out.

  There was no answer.

  While stepping through the doorway, I noticed the edge of the frame was scraped and dented. My gut clenched. Clearly, someone had broken in. I froze, not knowing what to do. I thought of calling the cops. But what if Fiona is in trouble? In the time it would take me to call and wait for them, I could have helped her. The thought gave me the courage to step inside instead of waiting for the police.

  I heard footsteps hitting something that sounded like metal. The robbers must be going down the fire escape.

  “Fiona,” I yelped, my voice strained in fear. Why isn’t she responding? I put the groceries down on the kitchen table. “Fiona!” My voice went up another octave.

  She didn’t respond. Please be alive. Afraid that one of the criminals could still be lurking, I got a knife from the kitchen. The handle almost slipped out of my sweaty hands. My heart raced as I walked toward her room. By her doorway, I saw her shoe turned on its side, as though there had been a struggle. My breath hitched, and my hands shook. What happened? I heard moaning.

  I entered her room. She was lying on the floor, with her forearm close to her body and her forehead resting on the floor. Her hand was limp, and her forearm jutted out from her elbow in an unnatural way. Wincing from seeing her contorted arm, I bent over her and put down the knife.

  “Fiona!”

  She turned her head toward me. I shuddered when I saw her swollen jaw and her neck, which was red, as if someone had grabbed it.

  “Amber,” she muttered, squinting through her red and puffy right eyelid.

  Relieved she could speak, I said, “I’m getting help.” I choked back tears, trying to remain calm. I picked up the phone next to her bed. The receiver shook in my hand.

  “Wait, Amber. Don’t call.” She held her injured arm with her other one. Cringing, she pulled herself up onto one knee. I put the phone down and rushed to her side. She leaned on me and got up. In a weak voice, she said, “Let’s take a cab to the hospital.”

  She swayed and stumbled in my arms while I held her up. “We need to call 911. You need an ambulance and medical attention.”

  She found her footing and stood upright. “No, it’s faster if we get a cab.”

  I sighed, relieved she didn’t collapse. “Shouldn’t we call the cops? You were assaulted.”

  “I’m sure the hospital will do that.”

  “I suppose.” I led her to her bed and helped her to sit. “Are you sure you can ride in a cab?” I rubbed her back.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. It would help if you would gather up my purse and an overnight bag for me. I don’t know how long I’ll be at the hospital. There’s a duffel bag in my closet.”

  I grabbed the duffel bag then put her pajamas and underwear from her dresser in it. Fiona must be in so much pain. It must have been awful to be beaten up. Tears streamed down my face as I put her purse in the bag.

  “Amber, it’s going to be all right.”

  I nodded.

  “Call Cam on my cell when we get to the hospital. It’s in my purse.”

  I nodded again. I wanted to ask Fiona what happened, but I figured I’d be in the room when the cops came to see her at the hospital. All I wanted at that moment was for the doctors to help her.

  After we arrived at Good Samaritan Hospital, gave Fiona’s name, and waited for it to be called, the nurse led us into a triage assessment area. Fiona told the nurse she was assaulted by robbers. Fiona continued to answer the woman’s questions. Then the nurse led us to a room with a curtain separating it from the other sections. She helped Fiona sit on the edge of the bed.

  “The doctor will be in soon. Since you were assaulted, I’ll call the police. They’ll want you to tell them what happened,” the nurse explained before leaving the room.

  “If you’re all right for now, I’m going to go back out to the waiting room and call Cam,” I said.

  “I’m fine.” Fiona sat on the bed and looked up at me. “Thanks for your help.”

  “Of course.” I walked away, relieved the medical staff would tend to her.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Since Cam had to drive from New Jersey to Manhattan, I waited awhile before I saw him. His fist clenched as I told him how I found his girlfriend.

  Through gritted teeth, he said, “They’ll pay for what they’ve done.” His knuckles turned white. He released his fist and spread his fingers, sneering.

  “I’m sure she’ll tell the police. The nurse said she was going to call them.”

  He shook his head and sighed. I was mad too, but Cam had a determined glare. I had a feeling that Cam intended to personally make the criminals suffer.

  A cop came out and talked to the woman at the front desk. She tilted her head in my direction. He came over.

  “Are you Amber?” the officer asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I need to ask you some questions.”

  “I’m going to go check on her,” Cam said.

  The policeman sat next to me and took out a pad of paper. “Fiona said you found her.”

  “Yes. When I came home, the doorframe was dented as though someone broke in.” My mouth went dry as I remembered the unnerving situation. “I heard footsteps, as if they went out the fire escape. I found Fiona in her room. She was hu
rt, with what looked like a broken arm, and her eye was red like she was hit.” He jotted everything I said down. “Do you think you’ll catch them?” I asked, hoping Fiona gave him a description.

  He shook his head. “We don’t have that much to go on. It’ll be difficult, since they wore ski masks.”

  My heart sank. I knew that those jerks could do to others what they had done to Fiona.

  “Thank you for your time,” he said, standing.

  The woman at the front desk buzzed the door open so I could go back to the patient area. I went to where I last saw Fiona. I pulled the curtain back and saw her lying in bed. Cam kissed her on the forehead.

  “Is her arm broken?” I asked Cam.

  “I spoke to the nurse. Fiona got X-rays, but we’re waiting to hear from the doctor to see if she’ll need surgery.”

  I went to her other side. She reached for my hand.

  “Thank you for calling him,” she murmured, holding my hand. I nodded, and she managed to squeeze it and let it go.

  Fiona closed her eyes. Cam tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing more of her swollen eye. Seeing her puffy face made my heart ache. The brutal beating must have been unbearable.

  Later, she had an IV drip attached to the arm that wasn’t hurt. The nurse said she was giving Fiona morphine to help with the pain.

  “She needs rest. I can talk to her later,” I whispered.

  Cam nodded. He rubbed his temples then ran his hands through his thick hair. “I’m going to stay.” He pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

  “I’ll be in the waiting room. Keep me updated.”

  I went out to the seating area. I planned on staying until the doctors determined if she would be admitted to the hospital, which I was fairly certain she would be. Her forearm and wrist could be broken, and it looked like she might need surgery. After looking through every magazine worth picking up, my patience was wearing thin. I got up to stretch my legs.

  Cam came out and sat beside me. “She’s going to have a cast. She has to wear it for four to six weeks. This whole thing makes me sick!” He swallowed then rubbed his tired face, making a circular motion over his eyes. The stress and frustration were starting to show. “She won’t be able to play her violin for weeks. She’s going to hate that.”

  I nodded. “It makes me sick too.”

  “I’m glad you could go with her to the hospital.” He stood up. “Are you sticking around? Fiona wanted to speak with you before you left.”

  “I’m going to check in on her before I go.”

  We went back to her room.

  I walked up to her bed. The staff had finished setting her forearm in a cast. It started below her elbow, and her fingers stuck out of the part that went over her hand. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when they broke in. I could have stopped those bastards.” Maybe she wouldn’t be wearing a cast if I had been home earlier.

  “They would have hurt you.” She strained to speak in a hoarse voice. “These are dangerous people.” She closed her eyes for a brief moment then opened them. “You need to stay somewhere else. Don’t go home, not yet.”

  Cam’s eyes widened. He gulped and stood frozen.

  Fiona thinks they will come back! Does Cam know what she’s talking about? His look of terror suggested that he did. “These people,” meaning she knows them? This wasn’t a random act of violence and crime.

  “You told the nurse you were assaulted by robbers. I told the police that I thought we had a break-in. Criminals wouldn’t come back to the scene of the crime.” Fiona wasn’t making any sense.

  “You can’t go home!” she cried out. “They are bad news. All they care about is getting their money. Those men will be back if my dad fails to pay them off.” Her lower lip quivered. “The things they said they would do to me if my dad doesn’t pay…” She stared off in the distance. “You can’t go back home.” She looked at me. “It isn’t safe.”

  A lump crept up in my throat. I braced myself against the bed rail. If I couldn’t go home because it wasn’t safe, neither could Fiona. Who the hell are these men her father owes money to?

  I swallowed, trying to force down the lump in my throat, but it wouldn’t budge. “They’ll be back if he doesn’t pay. Fuck, Fiona, this isn’t good.”

  Would they kill Fiona if her father doesn’t pay them? My mouth went dry. All I could think about was Fiona being murdered. My sweaty hands slipped off the rail and slapped my thighs. A warm sensation flooded over me, and my vision started to blur. I backed up, sat in a chair, and put my head in between my knees. “This isn’t good.”

  Looking down, I saw Cam stepping my way. He patted my shoulder and said, “I’m going to fix this.”

  I sat up. My vision had cleared. “You’re going to pay them off? How? Do you know who he owes money to?”

  “I’m going to get you some water,” Cam said before leaving. He avoided answering my questions.

  I got up slowly and walked to Fiona’s bed, where I took her hand. “I can stay at a friend’s house.” I let it go.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled. “Good.”

  “I’m so sorry that your dad caused this.”

  “Me too.” Her eyes glazed over with disappointment for a few seconds.

  “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to grab a few essentials from the apartment. Then, I can stay away until Cam straightens this mess out.”

  She looked me square in the eyes. “You can’t go back to the apartment alone.”

  Cam came back and handed me a cup of water.

  Fiona looked at him. “Amber needs to go back to the apartment to pack a few things. She can’t go there alone. It wouldn’t be safe.”

  Cam nodded. “I’ll make a call and get someone to go with her.”

  “What did you tell the police?” I asked Fiona.

  Fiona looked at Cam with beseeching eyes. “Can I have a moment alone with her?”

  “Sure, babe.” Cam left the room as he dialed a number on his cell phone.

  “Amber, you’ve become like a sister to me.” She drew her lips upward. “What I’m about to tell you has to stay between us.”

  “Of course.” I pulled the chair next to the bed and sat down.

  “I told the cops I was awoken by a noise. I wasn’t sure what was causing the sound. I was about to go check it out when the men attacked me in the hallway. They wore ski masks. One of them grabbed my neck. When I tried to rip off his mask, the other one punched me. I fell forward and tried to break my fall with my arms but hurt my arm in the process. The cop seemed to buy it. Did the cops talk to you?”

  “Yeah.” I frowned because she didn’t tell them the truth. The men who hurt her were going to get away with it. “I told the cops that when I got home the doorframe was dented and it looked like someone broke in. Wouldn’t it be better to tell the police the truth?”

  “If I pressed charges, it would only infuriate them. They’d make bail while waiting for their court date. Then they could come after me again.” Her eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering their faces looming over her while they inflicted excruciating pain. She shuddered. “Or the mob would send others to beat me up. Or worse, if necessary. I have to have faith that Cam will figure something out.”

  “The mob. Shit.” My worst nightmare had happened. The mob had hurt someone I cared about. “We could go into hiding after you press charges. Henry would let me go with you. He’d understand if I missed work for a few days or weeks.” Cam loved her, but that didn’t mean he had the power to save her from being hurt again. I was certain Henry would find it in his heart to let me take a couple weeks off to help a desperate friend.

  “Listen.” She scooted up with her one good arm so she wasn’t sliding down the bed. “Cam is a good man. Trust him.” She settled into a sitting position. “He’s going to stop them from ever laying a hand on me again. You’ll see.” She nodded at me then reached over and held my hand briefly. “I don’t know how Cam is going to come up with that kind of cash.
And I couldn’t care less about the means he uses to get it.” She held eye contact. “I’d rather not know. The men my father is in debt to operate by their own rules. Cam’s boss works with their boss occasionally. He knows who to give the money to, if he can get it.”

  “Are they bookies, these bosses? Do you know their names?”

  “No, betting is just one part of it. That’s the vibe I get from Cam. They only gave me a last name, Bugiardini.”

  I felt like someone had taken away the oxygen in the room. Them again! The longer I stayed in New York, the more my life was being interrupted by that evil family.

  Fiona continued, “That was enough for me to know what kind of people they are. They’re monsters.”

  I stood up and contemplated the mess Fiona was in. “Cam associates with the mafia?”

  “Cam isn’t like the others. He’s just a mechanic. Of all the ways his life could have gone, he took the most nonviolent route. He made the best out of being born into a world of crime and deception. I know from experience how difficult it is to avoid being dragged into the depths of despair by a violent family. When I found out the route he took by being a mechanic instead of becoming a hardened, sadistic criminal, I loved him all the more. We had something in common, the ability to make the best out of a reprehensible situation. We’re survivors. We’re soul mates. You can trust him. I trust him as much as I trust you. Amber, I swear on my mother’s grave, you can trust him.”

  I looked into her pleading eyes. “If you trust him, then I do too.” Even as I said the words, I didn’t know if I believed them. “What if Cam used his connections and called in a favor for your father? I thought people like them love to make deals. Maybe get the amount of money lessened somehow?” A shady idea at best, but these were desperate times. Since I had never been exposed to the mafia, I only had the media and movies to go off of. From that limited knowledge, I only knew one thing. The mafia only cared about money and deals.

  “He’s just a mechanic. He has no pull with the higher-ups, so he can’t ask them for a favor. Even if he could, it wouldn’t work. This gambling thing… The families have their own books and are territorial. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t think anyone from the Jersey family would try to get in between my dad and the New York crew, to whom he owes money.”