by Lane Hart
Eventually, I got Maddy to focus without being mean, and she grabbed what she needed. Some of her clothes, makeup, sketch pads, and colored pens and pencils and whatever it was girls thought they always needed. It was touch and go as we entered the house. It was completely eerie to be in there.
I tried to move her along as fast as we could. She grabbed a family photo from her dad’s office and his favorite monogrammed fountain pens.
She was napping after all that lugging, and I sat at the kitchen counter on a barstool and worked out a plan. It would involve using Maddie as bait and I had to bite back a bit of anger about it, but I knew the plan would work.
I got up and stood in the bedroom doorway and watched as Maddie slept peacefully. I smiled at her, and then she started to fuss and moan a bit in her sleep and then came a small scream.
I quickly ran and jumped into bed and wrapped my arms around her to calm her down. She did instantly and then without opening her eyes, she turned to kiss me on the mouth.
When I felt confident enough that she was okay and back in a peaceful state of sleep, I left the room to go map out my master plan to nail the Riccis and avenge the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Bianco. It would be complicated and hard, but I felt like I had come up with a surefire way to get back at them.
It did involve using Madeline in a way I didn’t like, and it would take her away from living with me for a while. But it was too good to not put into operation. I was feeling so confident about it that I think whooped for myself and nearly woke up Madeline, so I celebrated silently. I would need to break this plan to her lightly and convincingly, and I thought I would break it to her by cooking a fantastic meal for her. It was the best thing I could think of, and I remembered I had two huge steaks in the freezer. I would tell her about the plan for the Riccis over steaks.
Chapter Seven
Madeline
I could tell that Blake was nervous or hiding something from me. He was quiet for most of the night and he was cooking steaks for us. Something was up and I wanted to get it out of him.
“What’s going on?” I narrowed my eyes at Blake. He looked at me with wide innocent-appearing eyes. I knew then that something was up, and I demanded that he tell me immediately.
“During my meeting with the detective friend I have on the force, he informed me that he suspects the Ricci family is responsible for the car explosion.” He said this through very tight and short breaths.
“What?” I shouted and then got up and began pacing the kitchen. Blake quickly poured me a glass of wine and then stood tall and stiff like a statue. “The Ricci Family! I should’ve known!” I kept repeating and shouting and pacing.
I began picturing them blowing up in my head. I had known them since I was a kid, and I had never liked them. There was something so greasy and disgusting about them, and did I mention greasy? Oh! I hated them! Of course, they would be responsible for trying to kill me and my family.
They had it out for everyone who dared say a word against them. “What pieces of shit!” I shouted and then I snatched the wine right out of Blake’s hand. He actually looked terrified of me. It was some time before Blake said anything, probably because he knew I would scratch him if he did. I sat back down and put my head in my hands and took deep breaths. I could feel him leaning in toward me.
“I’ve been thinking hard about how I’m going to kill them. I need your help,” he said slowly and cautiously.
“What is it?” I growled impatiently and dropped my hands down to the counter to look him in the eye.
“I think the best way to get them is to have you ask them for a place to stay. Call it sanctuary, and then it can be easier for me to kill them with your distracting the sneaky bastard,” he finished with a touch of excitement.
I let out a laugh that was a release of stress, anger, and agony. “Stay with the Ricci family? Are you outta your mind?” I shouted at him and then put my head back in my hands.
I could tell this conversation was not going to be smooth. The wine was having no effect on me and I no longer craved the juicy steak sitting on my plate. Blake must have felt the same way as I saw he had not even made a cut into his. He just sat next to me and waited for me to say something.
I thought about it and knew the plan was the way to go to quickly get revenge on the Riccis. But what good was that? All it did was create more mob drama. All I wanted to do was go to Italy and start my life over there. This killing each other off business just made me sick thinking about it.
“Think of it this way, Maddie. If we pull this off without a trace to either of us, you can go do anything you want. What do the police care when they receive a bribe or two? Besides, the Riccis are high on their list of dangerous people to watch. They could care less if they kill them or someone else does.” Blake’s voice had a bit of excitement again.
He made it sound glamorous. But in reality, it would be an actual nightmare. Being in the home and breaking bread with the people who’d killed my family and wanted me dead was an insane idea, and I didn’t even want to think about it. I was already dealing with enough stress and sadness to last me a lifetime.
My hunger and thirst for wine returned, and I began to shovel in what I could before stress and loss of appetite came back. Blake just let me sit there beside him and tabled the subject till later that night when I began to throw things and scream in a state of rage.
It wasn’t rage toward Blake at all. It was all channeled at the thought of living with the Riccis. I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to help Blake pull the operation off. All I wanted to do was hide away in this small house with him and never go outside. Everything could come to me.
The other option was to get hold of a private plane and just pay the pilot off to not breathe a word that he was flying me to Italy. Then I could really let go and start my life there and never come back. Except maybe for Fashion Week.
Chapter Eight
Blake
I sat outside to smoke a cigarette and left Maddie to just get all of her anger out. I got tired of dodging flying mascaras and stuffed animals. I hadn’t smoked in years and it felt amazing to inhale that sweet tobacco and watch the smoke come out all white and curly. It was absolute bliss standing there with the cool night air calming my heated skin. It just began to feel hot in there with Maddie’s hot Italian temper. I felt like I was feeling her anger, like sympathy emotions.
I wondered how long I could stay out here until she noticed I had slipped outside. The last thing I wanted to deal with tonight was fighting off a fiery little Italian.
Scratch that. I just didn’t want to fight her, and I didn’t want to see her this angry. She had so much more strength when she was angry. It was scary and kind of sexy at the same time.
I kept checking through the windows to see if anything had calmed down. The last time I checked, I saw a teddy bear fly across the living room. I didn’t see anything airborne this time, so I finished my cigarette on the way to the front door and carefully walked in.
It was silent and I let out a deep breath and slowly closed the door. “Where have you been?” I heard her shout from behind, and it felt like a dagger had just been thrown in my back.
“I was just outside to think for a minute. A lot is happening.” I laughed a bit and I wasn’t sure why. Maddie stared hard at me as she walked slowly toward me and I began to fear for my life. She got so close that I could smell the lip gloss she had just applied.
She kissed me and then slapped me. She walked away and left me backed up against the door. “What was that for?” I called out to her.
“That’s for smoking!” She kept walking away. I put my hand on the cheek she slapped and then smiled after her.
As the night progressed, I tried to keep a safe distance from Maddie when she was near me. I could sense her grieving was taking on a new affect into furious anger fits. It was a little terrifying to be around her at the moment but really exciting at the same time. I couldn’t decide how I felt about it at the moment.
The more I watched her anger progress at the thought of having to live with the Riccis, the more I was starting to regret making that decision. Nothing was set in stone yet, but I wanted to tell her so she could process the idea instead of just springing it on her.
My idea had to be a mistake and I began to brainstorm again. There had to be another way now that I thought about it more. Maybe I was a little too hasty in making this plan. If this was going to make Maddie this angry, then I had to come up with something else.
It was starting to hurt me just watching her get all worked up over a plan that I came up with. It was a plan that only worked for my benefit to make the Riccis an easier target for me. I felt like I was being selfish with her since her family died. Maybe I wasn’t thinking of everything yet.
At the moment, the tension was so crowded in the room that I didn’t really have the space to think about anything. I was starting to give myself a headache.
I was hoping the detective would call be back soon. I was starting to get antsy at this point about doing anything drastic. I needed to tell him that Maddie was in my care and protection and see if we could strategize something else instead.
“What’s wrong with you?” Maddie was standing over me as I buried myself into the couch.
“I’m just thinking.” It was all I could get out and I feared I would be slapped again. It was funny that I had been a SEAL, had seen wars and the fall of humanity in some countries, and I was afraid of a cute little Italian girl slapping or clawing at me if I said or did the wrong thing around her.
I feared her because I loved her. That was the only reason I could think of. I looked at her sympathetically and lifted my arm out for her to curl up in. She saw my arm and then lowered her anger to a minimum level and walked over to nestle herself beside me.
I turned the TV on, and we watched a Friends marathon in silence. When something was funny I could feel her ribs shake when she laughed. At least she could maintain her sense of humor. In times like this, a sense of humor was important. I learned that a long time ago.
I tried not to talk about the plan and how I was having second thoughts about it to Maddie. I didn’t want to confuse her more and get her hopes up about another possibility. If there wasn’t a second possibility, then it would just hurt and confuse her even more than right now.
I just wanted to hold her and enjoy her until I could talk to my detective friend again. I pulled her face toward mine and kissed her. Friends became a subtle background noise as we continued to kiss, and I lay her back and got on top of her and massaged her entire upper body with my hands and caressed her breasts, eliciting soft moans from her.
The next morning, I was lucky to hear from the detective and I asked him if we could meet again. I had urgent things to ask him about before I completely tried to go through with my plan to have Maddie go to the Riccis’ house.
He agreed and I kissed Maddie goodbye as I headed out to meet him. She was still sleeping and pulled me in close to her. I was tempted to stay a little longer when she started to wrap her legs around me and I had to resist.
I drove as quickly as I could to the police station, but not close enough for anyone to see me. I waited parked on the curb as the detective had instructed me to. He would walk by and get in and we would drive around and talk. I would then drop him back off in the same spot and that would be our meeting.
I was almost starting to fall back asleep from the heat building up in the car. I jolted awake when the passenger door swung open and slammed shut.
“Go,” the detective instructed, and I instantly pulled out and drove down the street.
It was seconds before either of us said anything. I took a deep breath and dove in before he could say anything first.
“I have to tell you, Detective, that Madeline Bianco is staying with me under my protection. I live in the back building of the Bianco estate.” I took my eyes off the road for a second to see his reaction. He nodded his head and I watched as he took in what I said.
“Well, that makes sense that she would come to you for refuge.”
“Yes, and I have been plotting on how to get back at the Riccis and get them out of the way.”
“So, how does talking to me help you?”
“I want to know my options for helping her.”
“She could come to the police and we could put her in a witness protection program.”
“She wants to go to Italy. Maybe we can get her there.”
“It’s tricky, but you could make that happen. She would be safer there than in the States.”
“That’s what I figured.”
There was silence between us and then the detective began to talk about everything he had on the Riccis’ and the Biancos’ history. There certainly was enough evidence there that would make it easy to assume the Riccis would plot and cause the explosion. Mr. Bianco had destroyed several of Mr. Ricci’s business operations.
But they had all jeopardized the businesses of people who had come to Mr. Bianco for help in taking down Mr. Ricci. As I listened to him talk about how dangerous the Ricci family was and how widespread their connections were with dangerous people not associated with the mob, but you wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley, I was more convinced that Maddie couldn’t go stay with them. She was right to be so angry with me for even suggesting it.
“There are far too many dangerous and dramatic accounts between Mr. Bianco and Mr. Ricci. You name it, they fought about it. Drugs, trafficking, money laundering, and so much more. I almost lost my taste for humanity altogether when I came across these cases. And what’s worse is that their kids all grew up together.” He scoffed at the thought of this.
I began to panic silently and needed to get back to the house and tell Maddie the plan was off. I couldn’t put her through all of that just so I could get an easy shot at the Riccis. I cared about her too much to do that to her.
I dropped the detective off at the same spot I picked him up. I raced home and burst into the house, calling out Maddie’s name. I heard no response and I began to panic and felt every nerve in my body activate and quiver. This was worse than being in a war zone.
I looked around the house and found that all her stuff was gone and then I looked out to the front of my house where her car had been parked.
It was gone as well, and then my heart sank and my stomach jumped to my throat. I called her phone and heard it ringing in my room. She had left her phone and the one I gave her was gone. She was gone.
Chapter Nine
Madeline
I don’t know what came over me when I woke up, but I was motivated to go through with Blake’s plan for me to stay with the Riccis. He had left, and since he seemed to be in such a hurry to not have a little fun, I had gotten up and made coffee. Before I knew it, I was packing up my stuff in my car and driving away.
I drove away from the only home I’ve ever had and the last place I ever saw or spoke to my parents. I looked at the house through my rearview mirror and then pushed my sunglasses further up my nose and kept driving. I worried that Blake would take my note the wrong way when he saw it. I wrote it with big bold letters and taped it to the fridge. I left my old phone in his room and took the other phone he gave me to use. I dialed Donato Ricci and took deep breaths.
“Hello?” Donato’s voice boomed through the phone.
“Hi, Donato. This is Madeline Bianco.” I could hear him almost laughing on the other end of the line. I had to pace myself as I almost drove through a red light. My car screeched as it almost passed over the line. I let out a sigh of relief. The last thing I needed right now was a ticket.
“Madeline Bianco,” Donato sang through the phone, and it gave me the icks. I stuck my tongue out in an about-to-barf motion.
“Yes, it’s me.” I had to take the phone away from my ear as I gained the courage to ask him what I wanted to ask him. “Donato, I need your help. I need a place to stay and I was hoping you’d be able to help me out.” I became silent.
I could hear him shuffling something around and then I heard a door close. Someone honked behind me and I saw that I had a green light.
There was still more silence on the other end. “Donato?” I asked, and then he responded.
“Yes, I’m here. Just sending the staff a text message that you will be staying with us,” he said as his breathing became louder. It was grossing me out and I had to keep moving the phone away from my ear just to continue talking to him.
“All right, you head straight to my house and they will take care of you, give you a bedroom and everything,” he said with a small laugh.
“Thank you, Donato.” He said it wasn’t a problem and we both hung up.
I remembered their address and popped it into Google Maps on my phone and drove. My mind started to wander, and I realized how easy that all was. In fact, it seemed way too easy to accomplish having a place to stay at the Riccis’. Maybe I should just turn around and drive back to Blake’s house and just be with Blake and they could figure something else out.
But I had already called Donato and they now knew I was alive and vulnerable. If I went back to Blake, I would be putting myself in even more danger, and Blake too. I had just put myself in the worst dilemma and I could just hear my father scolding me for making the wrong moves.
For all I knew I could show up to the Ricci house and they would have machine guns ready to shoot me. I laughed a bit to myself because I had no idea what really went on with my dad’s business. Until I was seventeen, I thought he worked in construction, and that was how I was going to remember him.
Now I had to focus on my safety while staying with the Riccis. I knew that Blake would be thrown off by my suddenly leaving, but it was his plan so he shouldn’t be surprised. I continued to drive and pray for myself.