A Blue Tale

by Sarah Dosher

  I didn’t let off the gas until I was miles away, and only then did I look behind me to see no black SUV in sight. I giggled at my small accomplishment then felt my stomach drop as I knew where my next stop was.

  The drive to the prison seemed so much shorter when I was dreading it. I found the farthest parking spot to the prison, out of view of anyone that might be hovering there. Just walking down the sidewalk made my knees weak, and my stomach turn so violently, I wanted to hurl. But I finally made it inside, through the numerous check points, and found myself sitting across from a man that didn’t look nearly as scary as I’d envisioned.

  “You must be Deacon’s ol’ lady. They said you were pretty, but damn!” Tony said with a huge smile.

  His skin was even darker than Angela’s, almost the color of coffee with just a hint of milk. His shaved black hair was so short you could barely see the small springs standing atop his head. A long, light colored scar ran from the top of his forehead, down past his eye, and finally disappeared under his shirt. I couldn’t imagine what had caused such a large gash, or if I even wanted to know. Despite the scar and bright orange jumpsuit, Tony was very attractive, and he knew it.

  “Hi, I’m Eli.” I finally said.

  “So that’s your name then?” He said as his eyes slowly undressed my upper body.

  I tapped on the glass lightly, drawing his attention back to my face.

  “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “So what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this? I can’t imagine you convinced Deacon to come for a visit.”

  “No, he doesn’t know I’m here.” I admitted and cringed as a devilish smile spread across Tony’s face.

  “Hmm, is that so?” He asked, slowly and deliberately.

  “I want to know everything. I want to know what happened, if anything is still happening, all of it.”

  “And what makes you think I’ll tell you when obviously Deacon didn’t?”

  “Do you have something to hide?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Woman, I’ve always got something to hide.”

  I frowned at him; he obviously wasn’t going to be helpful. Pushing my chair back as it scraped loudly on the white linoleum floor, I placed my hands on the table and leaned as close to him as I could with the glass between us.

  “If you aren’t going to help, then I’m wasting my time. I don’t know much about your friendship, but I do know Deacon saved your ass once since I’ve known him; Angela’s, too. But if you refuse to help me, well, then I guess that’s on you.”

  I held his gaze without wavering as his eyes searched my face, waiting for me to back down.

  “Put your skinny ass back in that chair, and calm the fuck down already.” He said while shaking his head at me. “What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.” I said a bit too quickly.

  “We ain’t got time for everything, gorgeous, so you’re gonna have to narrow it down a little for me.”

  “I can see the past haunting him, see it on his face daily. He won’t talk about it though; he just says he’s fine. I want him to be happy, I need to know he’s safe, that everything is okay.”

  “And you think I can help you? I’m locked up, on the inside. How the hell am I supposed to know what’s making him unhappy?”

  “You know him better than anyone else, you’ve known him the longest.”

  “Look lady, if you want to know what’s bothering him, then you should ask him. Honestly, I couldn’t give two shits about what’s making him unhappy right now. I don’t see him trying to help me be happy, so why would I return the favor?”

  “He says that, too, you know, ‘couldn’t give two shits.’ He says it and doesn’t realize how much it reminds him of you, but I can see it. His face drops and his eyes glaze over; it took me awhile to figure out why, but it’s because you say it, too. I know you mean a lot to him, and I think he means a lot to you, too.”

  Tony’s head drooped low, and he rub him temples vigorously with his thumbs.

  “That’s in the past, we fucked him over, and he wrote us off. We didn’t mean to, it just happened that way. I don’t blame him though, he’s moved on to bigger and better things since us.” He exhaled deeply. “I saved his ass once and ended up here. I don’t suppose I owe him any more favors. I killed a man gunnin’ for him, and he paid off a man to save my sister’s life. As far as I see, we’re squared away; clean slate.”

  He stood and signaled to the guard he was done.

  “Wait.” I called.

  “Don’t come back, okay, you need to stay away. Stay in your pretty house, with your pretty things; don’t come back.”

  I fell back into my chair, Tony’s words whirling in my mind, “killed a man gunnin’ for him.” The images that flashed in my head made my stomach turn, and my head swim. I don’t know how long I sat there staring into space, but a guard finally came and tapped on my shoulder.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?”

  I nodded and walked to the door to leave, not stopping until I reached my car and rested against the hood.

  Footsteps clicked on the sidewalk behind me.

  “Fancy meeting you here again…” I heard a man’s voice say.

  ***

  Deacon

  My phone rang for about the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. I’d been trying to ignore it while I got to know Eli’s guitar—I refused to call it mine, it wasn’t mine and never would be—I could never take her dad’s guitar, never.

  My guitar didn’t even compare to the real thing; this guitar was thicker, heavier and practically vibrated with unused possibilities. The strings were old and pulled too tight, but the rest was perfectly preserved, like Kirk, himself, stood guard all these years, waiting for his guitar to make its way into my hands.

  I looked down at my phone as it vibrated and danced on the table again. It was a number I didn’t know, so I really didn’t want to answer it. I didn’t want anyone fucking with my perfect day. I’d woke up, buried myself deep in Eli, and watched as the demons that haunted her cleared when she entered her dad’s office for the first time since he’d died. Fucking perfect day so far, and I just knew if I answered the phone, it would disappear as quickly as it had arrived.

  My phone rang out again, but this time it was Duke.

  “Hey man, what’s up?”

  “Is Eli with you?” He asked frantically.

  “Nope, she’s at work. Why?”

  “She’s gone.” His voice sounded edgy.

  “What? Who’s gone?” I asked as the anxiety in my core doubled then tripled.

  “Shaw’s been trying to call you. He says Eli went to see Tony, and now she’s gone.”

  “What?” I said, bolting from my chair and rushing toward the front door. “She went to the prison? By herself? Why the hell would she do that?”

  “I don’t know man, you need to talk to Shaw.”

  I hung up on Duke and dialed her number, over and over I dialed her number, but each time it went straight to voicemail, not even ringing once.

  Why would she have gone to see Tony? She was fine this morning, happy. What would have made her go there alone?

  I stood, dazed, halfway to the front door. A pounding on the door snapped me back and I rushed to it, ripping it open. I came face to face with a pissed off Shaw. He hands immediately collided with my chest, sending me back several steps.

  “They took her! They fucking took her, and it’s your fault!” He screamed.

  “Who took her? Tell me what is going on, damnit!” I yelled back at him.

  “She went to see your pal, Tony, and Vito’s men got her before she could get in her car to leave.”

  “How do you know this? Were you fucking following her?”

  I took a step toward him as he took one toward me, cracking his neck from side to side.

  “Someone was following her, it wasn’t me, but it was someone I hired. She needed to be watched, to ensure she was safe because of you. Obviously, you couldn’t k
eep her safe, so I tried to.”

  “Fine ass job you did of that.” I said under my breath.

  “Really, you’re gonna crack jokes right now?” He snapped.

  I ignored his jab. “I’m going to see Tony. There has to be a reason she went to see him.”

  “I’m coming with you, I want to look that piece of shit friend of yours in the face when he lies about what happened to her.”

  “Tony wouldn’t have anything to do with this. He’s a pain in the ass, but he’d never hurt Eli.” I said, not quite as confident in my words as I should be.

  “You better be right about that.”

  “I will get her back, and if anyone so much as touches a single hair on her head, they will pay.”

  We stood, toe to toe, until he nodded once.

  Tony didn’t seem surprised to see me when he entered the visiting area.

  “Where is she?” I demanded.

  “Who?”

  “Don’t fucking play games with me, damnit! Who took her?”

  His eyes grew large as he shook his head. “I don’t know, Deac. She was here, but she left hours ago.”

  “What did she want? Why would she come see you?”

  “She was asking about you, said you were unhappy about something, and she wanted me to help her figure out what. I really don’t have a clue what she wanted, I told her to leave and never come back.”

  “That better be the truth, I’ll fucking kill you if you’ve gotten her hurt!” Shaw yelled.

  “Calm down, you’re gonna get us kicked outta here.” I told him as two guards moved closer to us.

  “I swear, Deac, I have no idea what happened to her. She wasn’t here very long before I told her to leave, all we talked about was you. That chick cares about you something fierce, she was just sniffin’ for insights I didn’t give her. Told her we were even, and I didn’t owe either of ya a thing, then she left.”

  “What did your guy see?” I asked Shaw.

  “She ditched him at the parking garage at Savage Man, he lost her. Then we tracked her cell phone here. He got here just in time to see one of Vito’s guys snatch her by her car.”

  “Vito?” Tony whispered.

  “Are you sure it was Vito’s guys?” I asked.

  “Yeah, he’s sure. One of the same guys he saw when you guys were here last time. He knows Vito’s guys, if he says it was, then it was.”

  We both looked back at Tony, who immediately threw his hands up defensively.

  “Hey, don’t look at me, I haven’t seen Vito since the last mess. I gave up on that shit then. I ain’t got nothing to do with this.”

  “What about Angela? She still messin’ in Vito’s business?”

  “No man, she ain’t. She’s gone, outta town ‘til I decide she comes back, and I don’t even like that you asked shit like that. Don’t be trying to blame your problems on my family.”

  “Fuck you, Tony, don’t act like you’re high and mighty now. You fucked over Eli and I last time, why wouldn’t I think you have again?” I reminded him.

  “Last time was a mistake, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “Wrong place, wrong time my ass. Angela called me, said she’d fucked up and needed my help. You expect me to believe that shit wasn’t planned?”

  “If shit was, I wasn’t the one doin’ the plannin’.” Tony snapped. “You seem to think I want your ass in the middle of my business, but I can set that shit straight right now, I don’t want you anywhere near it. Thought you’d know that by now. I fuckin’ put my ass in this shithole for you, and now you think I’d try to send trouble after you. Fuck you, man.”

  “Both of you shut the fuck up, we’ve got bigger problems than which of you loves the other most. Vito took Elizabeth, and right now it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, it only matters how we’re going to get her back before they hurt her.” Shaw said.

  “The last thing Vito will do is hurt her, he wants something from her—I’m assuming money. So the last thing he’s going to do is hurt her. But you guys need to get outta here, I’m betting it won’t be long before you hear his demands.” Tony added as he stood. “When you get her back, tell her…never mind, just find her ass, okay? And Deac, when you do, don’t ever let her go again, ya feel me?”

  I nodded.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Eli Blue

  It was completely dark and smelled like something had died and was rotting in the warm afternoon air. I didn’t have a clue where I was, and part of me didn’t want to know. Laying on my side, curled into a ball with my knees pushed into my chest and my hands tied under my legs, wasn’t the most comfortable position, but I figured it could get a lot worse than this.

  I knew I should be scared, but I wasn’t. My dad’s music was filtering through my ears, bringing a sense of solace and calm with it. If I ever had a doubt they knew who my dad was, that had long since disappeared. A sharp pain shot down my right arm, through my leg, and finally swirled into my toes, but I closed my eyes and pictured my dad singing to me in his soft, aching voice. The sound of his voice inside my head quickly morphed to Deacon’s, which settled just as heavily.

  I’d recognized the man that pulled me into the white van at the prison as one of Vito’s guys. After he wrapped himself around me and carried me away from my car, he gagged me, tied my hands together, and then put a thick tan bag over my head, leaving me no way to fight back, or scream for help. But he hadn’t hurt me; he even placed his hand on the top of my head, helping me duck into cargo hold of the van. That gave me a small amount of comfort, and, oddly, made me feel safe.

  It took about thirty minutes to get to our destination, so I knew they hadn’t taken me far. The blare of rock classics on the radio blocked any sounds from the road, or outside. When we arrived, and they pulled me from the van, the only sound I heard was the rush of tires pounding down a nearby freeway.

  Once inside, they threw me on the ground and left; my dad’s most popular album had been playing on repeat the entire time I’d been here, muffling every sound. After several hours, I finally heard male voices arguing somewhere nearby, but not close enough for me to make out their words. Eventually they drew close enough, I recognized one of them as Vito. His accent rang true, grating into my ear drums.

  “Turn that shit off already, you think that music doesn’t haunt her as it is.” I heard someone yell from further away.

  “Calm your ass down, woman! You’re about two seconds from trading places with our dear little one here.” I heard Vito yell back.

  Shuffling footsteps grew near, and my breath slowed as my body tensed. Even with the bag still over my head, I could smell bitter whiskey mixed with the stench of death.

  “Hey baby girl, I told you yours was coming, didn’t I?” A female voice slurred near my head. “Well, it’s your time to pay up.”

  It was my fucking mom.

  ***

  Deacon

  “Where the fuck are the demands!” Shaw screamed from Eli’s kitchen.

  I didn’t respond, I continued staring at the picture of her hanging near a bookshelf full of old music references. It had been hours since we’d left Tony at the prison, and even longer since Eli had gone missing, and we hadn’t heard a single word from Vito.

  Shaw’s men were out walking the streets we knew to be Vito’s territory, but nothing—not a damn thing—had turned up. It was like she vanished into thin air. Willow wanted to call the cops, but Shaw and Duke had convinced her not to, but I was starting to think it might be our only option, unless we heard something soon.

  “I think it’s time.” I said to Shaw who had wandered into the living room with me.

  He glared at me, not even bothering to acknowledge I’d spoken.

  “Hey, fucker! This isn’t the time to play chicken with the deranged drug lord. It’s been hours, it’s time to come up with another plan.”

  “No,” was his only response.

  I stood from the couch in search of my phone. It w
as sitting on a long skinny table, directly in front of him. His eyes moved from me, to the phone, and back, daring me. Hoping I’d give him an excuse to release the bundle of nerves wound so tight inside him, I could see it contorting him completely—I knew because that’s exactly what was happening to me. I took a step, then he took a step, another, then another as he cracked his neck from side to side, a visible tell of his I was starting to see more, and more often. A smile slowly spread across his face while his hands clenched and unclenched, as the veins in his neck grew bigger and pulsed. My heart pounded in my chest as my body tensed preparing to attack. The doorbell rang, shocking us both from our murderous glares.

  On the other side of the door was a small, withered woman with long stringy hair and circles around her eyes so dark I wasn’t sure if they were drawn on with a marker, or a cruel joke formed by Mother Nature.

  “Who the hell are you?” She slurred at me.

  “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!” Shaw yelled from across the room before ripping the door from my hand and grabbing the woman by the arm, pulling her into the house. He grasped her neck and lifted her from the floor, pushing her back flush to the wall. “Did you have something to do with this shit, Christie? Because I will fucking kill you, and enjoy every single second of it.”

  She didn’t speak, I’m not sure she could with his hand cutting off her air supply.

  “Put her down, she can’t talk with you choking the life out of her.” I told him, probably a little more calmly than I should have been at the moment.

  “Deacon, meet Christie. Elizabeth’s piece-of-shit mother that would sell her daughter for the smallest ounce of anything she could snort up her nose, or shoot into her veins.”

  Her feet touched the ground just as her eyes shot to me, and I sprung on her, wrapping my hand around her arm pulling her against me.

  “You don’t fucking deserve, Eli. You are the poorest excuse for a mom I’ve ever seen, and I hope I’m there when all you’ve done comes back to kick you in the ass.”