Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2)

by E. J. Fechenda

“You said they could still come after you?”

  “It’s a possibility. His Uncle Marco is nuts, but I don’t know if he would look for me. I saved Dominic’s life, so I’m hoping he’ll consider us even.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  Coffee splashed out of my mug and on to the table. Not realizing I’d started shaking until the hot liquid landed on my wrist, I quickly set the mug down to avoid making a bigger mess, but the trembling continued. I struggled to get the words out, it seemed as though my saliva glands had experienced a sudden drought. “He’ll probably kill me,” I finally managed to choke out.

  Chelsea reached across the table and gripped my hand. Her rosy cheeks paled as the seriousness of the situation sunk in. Any levity that our previous conversation held was now stifled.

  “Natalie, you need to find out! How can you sit there not knowing that he may already have taken a hit out on you?” Chelsea stood up and started pacing the small dining area. “Can you call Grant, wouldn’t he know?”

  “I haven’t established contact with anyone. Nobody knows where I am and I don’t want them to know. Besides…” I dropped my head to the table and wrapped my arms over top, the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. “If Marco wants me dead, he’ll probably want Grant dead too. I can’t even think about it.” Overwhelmed, my body vacillated between throwing up and hyperventilating.

  “Shhh,” Chelsea soothed, resting her hands on my shoulders and lightly massaging them. “We’ll figure something out.” I could feel the tension releasing its hold the more Chelsea rubbed. My breathing slowed and this helped settle my stomach down. I took a few deep breaths and slowly raised my head up off of the table.

  “Thanks, Chels. Everything just hit me.”

  “Hey, that’s what I’m here for. I’m your personal crisis counselor! I’m going to make some calls to see if anyone has figured out you’re here and we’ll go from there. Okay?”

  “Okay.” That was a start and it helped relax me further.

  After Chelsea left for work, I decided to face my fears and check email. It felt like an eternity to access the wireless internet connection. Finally, I was able to pull up my Gmail inbox. I had over three hundred messages. Jesus! I thought to myself when I saw that all but about forty were from Grant and Dominic. Most of the subject lines read: Where are you, come home, call me, I miss you, I love you (the latter two were from Dominic).

  The most recent email, sent three days earlier caused my blood to run cold. The subject line read: need to talk - now. It was from Grant. I closed my eyes and clicked the email open. With much trepidation I opened my eyes and started reading.

  Nat,

  I don’t know where you are, but you need to call me!! Bottom line, watch your back. Come HOME so we can protect you.

  Grant

  Shit, not good, not good at all. If he wanted me to come home, then it had to be the NYC families and not Philly I had to look out for. I snapped the laptop shut. That was enough email for the day. My plans for going out for a run were put on hold. Until I received confirmation from Chelsea that my whereabouts were still unknown, I wasn’t leaving the apartment. Every time I heard a noise outside, whether it was a car door shutting or someone sneezing in the courtyard, I jumped. Needless to say, it was a very long day.

  Chapter 4

  Chelsea didn’t make it home until after midnight and in a total role reversal, I was the one waiting up to interrogate her.

  “Did you talk to anyone?” I asked.

  “I did and boy did my mom fill me in! She ran into your mom at the grocery store over the weekend. Your mom told her how you had taken off without a word as to where you were going and that she hadn’t heard from you in over two weeks. She says she’s not surprised, that you’re just like your father by running off as soon as things get tough.” Chelsea’s cheeks flushed with anger. “Can you believe that shit?”

  “But, I wrote her a letter and mailed it the day I left Philly. That was less than two weeks ago.”

  “My mom didn’t say anything about a letter, but apparently Grant has been trying to track you down and your mom told him not to bother. I knew you and your mom didn’t get along, but that is just wrong!”

  “But Grant doesn’t know where I am?”

  “Not according to my mom.”

  “And you didn’t let anything slip that you might know where I am?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” I breathed a sigh of relief. Chances are that if Grant didn’t know my whereabouts, then the NYC families didn’t know either. I would still have to keep a low profile, but I didn’t need to become a complete shut-in, or keep running. I decided that Chelsea didn’t need to know about Grant’s email. She was taking enough of a risk having me under her roof. If things did take a more serious turn, I would have to be prepared to leave on a moment’s notice.

  “Now that that’s out of the way, I told Derek you were coming to dinner and he invited his roommate to come along.”

  “Chelsea, not a blind date?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that! It’s just so you would feel more comfortable.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Please? His name is Jason, he’s really nice and I promise this isn’t a date. There are no strings attached.”

  “Fine,” I groaned.

  Chelsea went to her bedroom to get ready for bed and I stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come. I thought about Grant’s email, then about meeting Chelsea’s boyfriend and his roommate. At some point my mind shut down and I drifted off. The next thing I knew, it was morning and Chelsea was in the kitchen making a racket.

  “What are you doing?” I called out, covering my head with a pillow to drown out the noise.

  “I’m off today, remember? I’m making muffins.”

  “Are you grounding the flour yourself?” I asked, wandering into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

  “No, smart ass, I was grinding coffee beans. Mom sent me a grinder as a housewarming present and I haven’t used it yet.” Chelsea hopped from the coffee maker to the oven, checking the progress of her muffins. Her blond hair was tied back in a loose knot and tendrils framed her face. She even had make-up on.

  “How are you so awake right now?” I asked from my perch on one of the bar stools at the breakfast bar. I leaned against the counter holding my head up with a hand.

  “It’s almost 10:00. I slept in. You’re the one used to vampire hours.” She pointed at me with an oven mitt and then bent over to retrieve the muffin tray. She set it on a hot pad and steam rose from the muffin tops, which were covered in cinnamon and large crystals of sugar.

  “Since when did you learn to bake?”

  “No new skills here, Nat. These are from a mix.” She flashed a cheesy grin and held up an empty box that had the Betty Crocker logo on it, like she was a game show model. Shaking my head, I laughed and went to get a cup of coffee. We ate breakfast together, making plans for the day leading up to the dinner date for Chelsea and not-a-date-dinner for me. After breakfast I took a quick shower and then we headed out in Chelsea’s Volvo, despite Chelsea’s protests. She thought my convertible BMW was more suitable for a girl’s day of shopping and mani/pedi’s than her beater. When I pointed out the slim possibility that my car could be a target, she acquiesced.

  Chelsea drove to the Fashion District in downtown L.A. and parked in one of the parking garages. We walked along crowded sidewalks, Chelsea pointing out random landmarks until we reached her destination of choice, what she called her “shopping mecca”, Santee Alley. Awnings over storefronts seemed to be conjoined with large canvas umbrellas they were packed so close to each other. The umbrellas were brightly colored, stripes of pink and green stretched the length of the alley. People milled about and signs for name brands competed for attention. I felt anonymous in the crowds and relaxed. Hanging out and shopping with Chelsea was like old times and, for the first time in months, I felt almost normal and there were moments it was easy to forge
t about my old life for a while, except when a face in the crowd would look familiar and I’d begin to panic. Only after a second glance confirmed the face did in fact belong to a stranger, was I able to calm down.

  I found an amazing pair of sunglasses for $1.00 and Chelsea got a steal on Jimmy Choo knock-offs that she planned on wearing that night. After shopping, we started to head back to the apartment, stopping along the way to get our nails done. The fresh air, sunshine and freedom to walk around without glancing over my shoulder (for the most part), actually had me looking forward to going out to dinner.

  Derek and Jason arrived to pick us up at 8:00. I hung out behind Chelsea as she opened the door. She flew into Derek’s arms and kissed him. Jason and I looked away, finding the ceiling suddenly fascinating. Chelsea and Derek’s embrace started to border on embarrassing.

  “Hi, I’m Jason Fletcher,” he said and held out his hand to me.

  “Natalie Ross.” We shook hands, very formal and business like.

  Upon hearing us introduce ourselves, Chelsea pulled away from Derek. “Sorry about that! Derek, this is Natalie.”

  “Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you. Chelsea is ecstatic that you’re here!” Any similarities between Derek and Dominic stopped with their names. He as tall or as muscular. He had an athletic build, like a soccer player, with brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. Jason was about the same height as Derek, but with broader shoulders. He had blonde hair that was bleached out from the sun and striking turquoise eyes, which stood out against his tan skin - definitely not my type - not that I was interested.

  We all rode over to the restaurant in Derek’s Jetta. I sat in the back with Jason and stuck as close to the door without being obvious. My sundress was short and there wasn’t enough material to pull down past my thighs. I caught Jason checking out my legs and I tried tucking them out of sight. I certainly didn’t want to encourage any attraction.

  I stared out the window and watched strip mall after strip mall pass by. Traffic was heavy and there were points where the car just crawled along at a snail’s pace.

  “Is the traffic like this all the time?” I asked.

  “Yeah, this is actually pretty light.” Jason answered. “During rush hour, it’s like a parking lot.”

  “It’s not like this in Philly.”

  “Welcome to urban sprawl. So what brings you to L.A.?”

  “I graduated with Chelsea in May and was getting tired of the scene in Philly, so here I am.” The answer seemed vague enough.

  “Do you have a job yet?”

  “No. I have some money saved up so I can coast for a while. I don’t even know how long I’m going to stay here.”

  “You need to stay with me forever!” Chelsea said with a laugh.

  “I usually work nights, so I can show you around during the day sometime if you like?” Jason asked.

  “That’s nice; I’ll keep that in mind. What do you do?”

  “I’m a bartender.”

  My heartbeat accelerated at that piece of information, but I tried to rationalize it. Bartending is a popular profession. If the guy mentioned something else he had in common with Dominic, it could warrant a freak-out. Just then a car swerved in front of us, cutting the Jetta off and forcing Derek to slam on the brakes.

  “Asshole!” he yelled and laid on the horn.

  When I saw the Pennsylvania plates illuminated by Derek’s headlights and then saw that the car was a black Cadillac, the same model as Marco’s, it suddenly felt like the seat had disappeared from underneath me and I was free falling to the street. My throat closed up and I struggled to inhale.

  “Nat, Nat, talk to me!” Chelsea’s voice sounded far away. I could feel my lungs straining from the lack of oxygen and I was dizzy. “Natalie, breathe!” A hand clamped down on my healing shoulder sending shockwaves of pain rippling down my arm. This broke whatever episode I was having and I heaved in a gulp of air, followed by several gasps in quick succession.

  A dull ache throbbed above my temples and I leaned back against the seat. My face felt wet. Reaching up, I was surprised to find tears had run down my cheeks. I pulled my hand away and stared at my glistening fingertips. Then I looked up to three concerned faces. Derek had pulled over to the side of the road. Chelsea’s arm was stretched back from the front seat and her hand still rested on my shoulder.

  “Jesus Nat, are you okay?”

  I nodded my head and she withdrew her arm. This was so embarrassing, but the Cadillac, which was nowhere to be seen now, had quite literally almost scared the shit out of me.

  “Derek, I think we should take Nat home.”

  “No, I’m fine, really.” I lied. “I’m sorry I freaked out back there. I don’t want to ruin your night.”

  “It’s no big deal Nat. We’ll pick up some pizzas and hang at the apartment. Maybe go for a swim?” Chelsea suggested.

  “Actually that sounds like a better plan than eating at a stuffy restaurant,” Jason agreed.

  “I third that. Majority rules.” Derek shifted the car into drive and flipped a u-turn, earning several blaring horns and middle fingers from other drivers.

  We were all sitting on the floor around the coffee table eating pizza. LA pizza didn’t have anything on Philly, but I ate hoping to get rid of my headache. A couple slices and a diet Coke later, I was feeling almost normal again.

  The ride back to Chelsea’s apartment was an awkward one. Jason sat next to me in silence. I could feel his eyes on me and every once in a while it looked like he started to say something, but stopped. Chelsea and Derek chattered on about God knows what. I was busy keeping to myself. Now that we all had eaten and Jason, Derek and Chelsea had had some beers, the tension lifted.

  “So, what was that all about anyway?” Jason pried.

  My eyes darted to Chelsea. “Nat just broke up with her boyfriend. It was pretty rough,” she explained for me. “He’s a bartender too.”

  I let the explanation go because Chelsea didn’t need to know that a Cadillac with Pennsylvania plates was cause enough for a panic attack. “I’m sorry if I fucked the evening up.”

  “You didn’t.” Jason’s eyes met mine and I quickly looked away.

  “Let’s go for a swim!” Chelsea hopped up off the floor and pulled me up with her. “Derek, you have extra board shorts here that Jason can borrow.” She disappeared into her bedroom and emerged with two pairs of Hawaiian printed shorts, which she tossed across the room to Derek. He snatched them out of the air.

  “Oh, cat-like reflexes,” I joked and Derek laughed.

  We left the guys in the living room and I followed Chelsea into her bedroom to change. I pulled on a one piece suit and groaned when I saw my scar glaring out from behind the strap.

  “This isn’t going to work. I don’t want to have to explain this.” I pointed at my shoulder

  “I know!” Chelsea jumped up and down while clapping her hands. Oh yeah, she was buzzed. She rummaged through her dresser and pulled out a two piece bathing suit, the top was like a sports bra with extra wide straps.

  “This is a different style for you,” I said.

  “I wear it to go surfing.” The only response I could offer was to give her an incredulous stare. “Derek’s teaching me.”

  “Really? Well, that’s cool.” I put on the suit and looked in the mirror. It was a little loose, but provided adequate coverage. I wrapped a beach towel around my waist and walked out with Chelsea.

  “Mmm, mmm babe, you look hot!” Derek praised Chelsea and her face lit up, her normally rosy cheeks flared a deeper pink. I had never seen Chelsea look so blissful. Thoughts of Dominic filled my head and a lump formed in my throat. Annoyed, I shook my head, blinking away tears and hoping to clear the reverie. I left him, I was starting over and right about now I was doing a bang up job. I mustered up a smile and went to stand next to Jason.

  “Shall we?” I asked.

  “After you,” he held the door open for me and I felt his eyes on my back. Derek grabbed a six pack before he a
nd Chelsea left to follow us down to the pool. The area was deserted, maybe because it was Wednesday night. I dropped the towel right by the edge and dove in. Weightless, I floated around the deep end and let the water relax my muscles. Just over three weeks ago I was dodging bullets and now I was clear across the country submerged in warm waters, staring up at palm trees swaying in the balmy breeze. The city lights were too bright for the stars to be visible, but the endless sky was still peaceful, calming.

  My head collided into something and I flipped over to see what I hit. Jason bobbed in front me, smiling. The combination of the chlorine and the underwater lights amplified the turquoise of his eyes. They were quite mesmerizing. Dominic’s green eyes paled in comparison to these.

  “Sorry.”

  “Nothing to apologize for unless, you were planning on a hit and run,” he teased. He reached up and caressed my cheek. I swam backwards to create space between us. “Hey, I didn’t mean to offend. You just look so relaxed.” He moved forward, closing the gap.

  “Do you know the quickest way to get over an ex?” he whispered. I shivered as his breath tickled my ear.

  “How?”

  “A rebound,” he cupped my face and drew my lips to his. I resisted at first and pulled back, but thought about the logic in his statement. Yes, a rebound was exactly what I needed to rid my thoughts of Dominic. I leaned into him and surrendered. His lips felt foreign, but moved expertly with mine. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he drew me in closer. We were wet and our bodies were cool at first, but the body heat soon warmed us. In the background Chelsea was giggling. She and Derek were getting comfortable in the hot tub, leaving us alone in the pool.

  Jason spun me around until my back was pressed against the tiled wall. He lowered his lips to my jaw, placing soft kisses down my neck. He was good, but he wasn’t Dominic. My skin didn’t tingle and burn with Jason’s touch. It took some effort, but I managed to push the comparisons aside and focused on the moment. Jason moved against my pelvis and I wrapped my legs around his narrow hips. His muscles rippled as he hoisted me up further and I felt his erection through the material of his shorts. A moan escaped my lips, echoed by Jason.