Damaged Goods

by Dane, Cynthia

  Speaking of her crazy boyfriend…

  “Joseph!” She had promised herself she would remain calm when she met him again. Not only was she surrounded by agents and officers armed to the teeth, but Joseph had a tenuous relationship with everyone around him – including his mother. That woman was the one who looked at Sylvia first, both with a strange sense of acknowledgment and a glare that suggested Sylvia should be far away from this scene. “Are you okay?”

  He did not push her away when she barreled into his arms. Her phone quaked in her hand, threatening to tumble to the concrete rooftop and lose her connection to one of the only people capable of hacking the location of a secret truck before it could take off again. Assuming the police hadn’t managed to get it from Alexander Sheen before he went down. Oh my god. That’s a lot of blood…

  “I’m fine.” Joseph turned, Sylvia still in his arms, and shielded both his and his sister’s eyes from the blood oozing from a man currently being tended to a by a crew of EMTs. Sylvia had been so distracted that she almost forgot Reina was here too. Joseph’s sister cried a torrent of tears and babbled every terrible thing that had befallen her over the past two days. Another EMT was trying to get to her, but like Sylvia was not in the mood to leave him earlier, Reina was not about to leave her brother’s arms anytime soon. She needs an EMT more than I did! “It’s over. Both of you. It’s over.”

  “Did you find out where the truck is?”

  Joseph shook his head. “Sheen wouldn’t give it up. A sniper got him before he could hurt Reina any more than he had.”

  The woman coming up to them was more maternal than Sylvia had ever seen her. Genevieve gently took Reina by the arm and coaxed her away from Joseph, promising her that she would be all right, that it was over, and that her parents would be waiting for her at the hospital. That’s gotta be a helluva conversation. Reina kept her head over her shoulder, blubbering in her brother’s direction while a woman she barely knew led her away to the paramedics on standby.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Sylvia wrapped both arms around her boyfriend. “I saw you up here, and then a gun went off…”

  “Yes. I’m fine.” Joseph embraced her back with as much strength as he dared to crush her with. Go ahead and crush me. I don’t care. At least I’ll know you’re definitely alive and that this isn’t an illusion. “I’m more worried about you, Sylv. I’ve got a bump on my head. You’ve…”

  Got someone on the line! “Hello?” Nala’s voice cracked over the phone. “You there, Sylvia? Answer me, yo! Vincent thinks he has something!”

  Sylvia shoved her phone into Joseph’s hand. “Vincent’s looking for the truck as we speak. He might have something!”

  Joseph held the phone up to his ear. “Hello? Who is this?”

  In all of the chaos, with all of the fear choking Sylvia’s heart – for it still hadn’t sunk in that it was over – she still managed to plant a happy kiss on her boyfriend’s cheek. It would’ve been on his lips, too, except Joseph was a tad busy finding out some imperative information. Sylvia wasn’t selfish enough to get in the way of that.

  ***

  Nobody said anything when Sylvia followed Joseph into a cruiser and rode with him to a warehouse in North Portland. Helicopters canvased the area from above. News teams were on the scene, although none of them had any idea what was going on. The police cars and unmarked agency vehicles blocked streets and brought the heavy artillery to the place expert hacker Vincent Lane proclaimed to be the location of Alexander Sheen’s final truck of “damaged goods.”

  The situation was already unfolding by the time Joseph and Sylvia arrived. He leaped out of the car, gun out of its holster while Sylvia was held back by a uniformed officer assigned to her at the last minute. Bomb squads arrived, but they were unnecessary. SWAT was inside the warehouse, the last man disappearing at Genevieve’s orders when Sylvia got out of the car.

  A small amount of rabble peppered the air until the garage door was forced open, revealing a large, white truck and a number of officers forcing men and women to the ground. They covered their heads with shaking hands. Sylvia got up on the hood of the cruiser to see what else was going on.

  “Oh my God!” cried a feminine voice. “Is this for real?”

  One by one young women were ushered out of the back of the truck and into the open air. Agents motioned for them to follow a set path leading to detectives and paramedics. A blond girl wearing a torn dress shouted that one of them was still passed out in the truck. She was reassured that the paramedics would get to her as soon as it was clear to do so.

  The suspects were handcuffed and hauled to police cars. SWAT did a final sweep of the warehouse and any surrounding ones. Sylvia was able to wiggle away from her escort and found Joseph standing, weapon sheathed, next to his mother and a group of other agents as they watched on.

  “They’re saying there’s a baker’s dozen in there,” Genevieve said, referencing the amount of young women pulled out of the truck. “No doubt we’ll get the suspects to talk and implicate Sheen, even if he kept clean enough to not be directly involved. It’s too bad we couldn’t get him on audio confessing to Ms. Rogers, though. He’ll have the best lawyer around to make sure he’s not convicted.”

  Jim, sitting in a cruiser with his door open, laughed. “Don’t know about that, Commander. Your hacker may have been faster than me when it came to finding the truck, but can he decode the signal jam that occurred when Sheen was confessing? I didn’t think so.” He played back the files he had been tinkering with on his laptop. Although it was muted after layers of static were removed, Sylvia’s voice could still be prominently heard. On top of that? Alexander Sheen, who, last Sylvia heard, was in the emergency room having his gunshot wound tended to.

  “So what do you say, Mr. Sheen?” Sylvia said on the recording. “Are you convinced that we could make a business like this work?”

  “I daresay you know what you’re talking about Sylvia,” Alexander replied. “I’ll have my assistant contact you so we can go over an enterprise like this at a later date.”

  While they continued to chat on the recording, Jim did a fist pump and launched into an awkward, incredibly arrhythmic dance that almost knocked this computer off his lap.

  “And that’s how you put a jerk in jail.”

  “Good work.” Genevieve first patted Jim on the shoulder and then her son. “I need to take care of this mess. Jim, email everyone pertinent a copy of that file. Joseph, head on to the hospital to help us take statements. You can start with your sister’s.”

  He pulled out his cell phone, nodding. “I’ll call my father and let him know.”

  Genevieve smiled. “I already did. He and your stepmother might beat you there.” She took note of Sylvia standing only a few feet away. “You can take her with you if she promises to stay out of the way. I doubt we’ll be able to shake her anyway.” Laughter, nervous yet still mirthful, burst from Genevieve’s chest. “Besides, you need to debrief her. God, what is even going on tonight?”

  “I promise to stay out of the way!” Sylvia attached herself to Joseph’s hand. “When are we going?” There was no way she could go home and rest after a night like tonight. Besides, the commander was right! She needed to be debriefed!

  Joseph waited until they were as alone as they were going to get before pulling Sylvia into his arms and kissing her. Sirens blared around them. Officers and agents alike shouted orders and clarifications. Young women cried as they were loaded into ambulances and taken to the hospital. Suspects demanded lawyers. Everything was coming to a close, and after months of research, planning, and action, a life-ruiner was finally being brought to justice.

  Sylvia relaxed. Just a little bit.

  “You did great tonight, Sylv.” Joseph pulled hair away from her face so he could kiss her as she was meant to be kissed. Oh, man, you’re so lucky I’m used to being an exhibitionist. Other agents chuckled to see the commander’s son being sly with an undercover witness. Never again, man.
I never want to do this shit again. There were a lot of things she never wanted to do again. Hopefully, a life with Joseph meant saying goodbye to a lot of her past.

  A life with Joseph. Way to get sentimental at the most chaotic moment!

  But was it truly chaotic? Was the happy emotion swelling within her truly chaos? Yeah. It burned. It brought turmoil to her heart. It made her gut twist in ways no man had made it twist in joy before. Was it pure adrenaline powering their current frenzy? Definitely. Had Joseph only admitted to loving her because he worried it was his last chance? Possibly. Sylvia could dig into that later. When they were alone. In bed. Making love.

  All that mattered was that she felt his desire, his passion, and his love for her in that one kiss they shared.

  The hospital would be more chaos. Controlled chaos, but chaos nonetheless. Sylvia chose now to thread their fingers together as a reminder that they were conjoined, whether in the physical realm or purely emotional.

  He clutched her hand as strongly in return. Sylvia grinned against his lips, the rush of the evening crashing into her. This is the realest thing I’ve ever felt. No worries. No fears. Just the two of them, surrounded by haggard agents and officers ready to fire their weapons at any moment.

  Yup. Sounded like a perfectly normal life to Sylvia Rogers, former escort and soon-to-be professional Portlander. When a girl had a tough, handsome man who considered his biggest flaw to be caring about people? Maybe this city wasn’t so bad after all.

  Epilogue

  Red carnations rustled in Joseph’s hands as he made the trek through the maternity ward. A place I never thought I would be again. The sight of babies sleeping in their little beds and nurses taking new mothers out for walks was both comforting and brought back some of the worst memories of Joseph’s life.

  He stopped outside a specific room before lightly knocking. A rousing “Come in!” answered him.

  Angelica had been in the hospital for a week now, having gone into premature labor and sending everyone in the Montoya family into a worried tizzy. I heard about it from my stepmother, for fuck’s sake. That was not a phone call Joseph expected to have one dreary December day when he sat down to have lunch at work. I didn’t even know Angelica was still close to my family.

  Now she held her newborn son. The smallest baby Joseph had ever seen, but alive and otherwise well. Angelica was completely devoid of jewelry and makeup, not even her wedding ring glistening on her finger. But a smile lit up her face when she saw Joseph enter the room.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here.” She rested her head back on her pillow and gazed up at him with a soft visage that instantly relieved Joseph of thinking that anything was wrong with the baby. “What are those? Carnations?”

  “Yeah, uh…” He put the flowers down on the nightstand by her bed. The room was already full of balloons, flowers, and enough stuffed animals to last the kid the first ten years of his life. “I know red carnations mean something all lovey-dovey, but I remembered they were your favorites and thought you’d might like to… see… some…” The whole room was full of red carnations. Apparently, flower meanings went out the window when the woman in question had given birth to her first viable child. At least nobody will think this means I’m still in love with her. Hopefully. Maybe.

  “You’re so sweet, Josef.” Angelica held her hand out to him. He took it before dipping down to kiss her cheek in greeting. “You’ve always been the sweetest.”

  “I wanted to make sure you were getting along well. How is he?”

  Angelica propped her son up, his tiny head boasting wrinkled cheeks and closed eyes. “Do you want to see him? We named him Joshua.”

  Joseph didn’t extend his arms to hold the baby. Instead, he kept his hands behind his back the moment Angelica released the one she held. “He’s beautiful. You’re amazing, Angelica.”

  When she lifted her head again, it was with a bit lip and eyes already twisting in regret. “I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you I had him because I was… well, worried how you would take it.”

  “As you can see, I’m fine.” He was, too. Joseph had plenty of time to get used to the idea of his ex-girlfriend, who had tried to have two children with him, moving on to have a family with another man. A part of him would forever hurt to think of it. After all, he had lost those children too, even if Angelica bore the brunt of the misery. Does any man move on from that? Not a man like him. He would always wonder what his life would have been like if those dreams came to fruition.

  But he also knew that they hadn’t. That his life was meant to lead elsewhere.

  “Yes, I hear you’re living quite the life with your new girlfriend.” At least Angelica was smiling again. “She’s funny. And she must be fine if your stepmother speaks fondly of her.”

  Oh, great. “Exactly what does ‘talks fondly mean?”

  “She said your girlfriend can’t cook worth a shit and seems too chummy with your little sister. But your real mother approves of her, so Verónica thinks that means your girlfriend has some merit to her. She’s still trying to figure out what, though.”

  “Wow, yeah. She really does like her, huh?” If Verónica didn’t like Sylvia, then her silence would speak magnitudes. Nobody expected any non-Latina Joseph dated to know how to “cook worth a shit.” Being friends with Reina meant either Sylvia was too immature to handle life or that she was the teenage-girl whisperer. Joseph would say the latter. Sylvia could get along with anyone… or at least know how to talk to them. “Good to know.”

  “I’m happy for you. She’s much better than that rebound you went out with before.”

  “Hey, now, you weren’t supposed to know that Stella was a rebound.”

  “You think I wouldn’t hear about the weird shit you did with her?”

  “I’m doing weirder shit with my current girlfriend.” Once trust was established between them, Sylvia gradually opened up with some of the things she missed from her previous relationships. Joseph was getting reacquainted with the more primal sides of himself as the weeks progressed in his relationship. She wants a sympathetic man outside of the house and a damn caveman brute in bed. Typical. Also deliverable. Was it in poor taste to think about how the current girlfriend liked having her hair pulled and screaming for more cock when in the presence of the ex and her new baby? Could babies read minds? “Don’t tell my stepmother that.”

  “Ah, Josef, I really am happy for you. I worried about you, you know.”

  “Says the woman who dumped me. Multiple times.” The fact Joseph managed to say that with a genuine smile told them both that he had truly moved on. “But I’m happy for you too. Raise this kid well enough so I can invite him to my wedding.”

  “Hm? You’ve got something you need to tell me?”

  “Ahaha, no. Nothing like that. Yet.” Although he had accidentally seen a couple of Sylvia’s journals while wandering around her room. “Mrs. Joseph Montoya. Sylvia June Montoya. Mrs. Sylvia Montoya. Mrs. Zachary-Quinto-If-He-Were-Straight…. Someone was thinking ahead. And had lofty ambitions should anything happen to her relationship with Joseph.

  That wasn’t going to happen. Joseph was tired of not being settled down. If dating Angelica for so much of his life had taught him anything, it was that he needed a steady girlfriend to call his own. In turn, he needed to belong to someone else. He only felt whole when he had a woman to rely on and build a future with.

  Angelica turned out to not be that woman. Sylvia was more than perfect, though. The more time they spent together, the more comfortable Joseph felt in saying that. I don’t know why I didn’t find her sooner. I should have had a clue the first time we made love. Wasn’t like Stella cared, wherever she was now.

  Joseph ended his visit by taking a selfie with mother and newborn. By then, a commotion was erupting out in the hallway, and his law enforcement instincts compelled him to leave and check out what the hell was going on.

  He should have known. Whenever there were loud, boisterous voices bouncing around, the
only possible culprits were the women in his family.

  “I said her name is Angelica.” Verónica stood in front of the nurse’s station with a handful of pink balloons bopping above her head. Gold lettering on each heart-shaped balloon spelled out the baby’s name… in Spanish. “What more do you want? You got more than one Angelica here? I don’t know her husband’s last name! Who cares! Do you know how much money my husband has donated to this hospital? Huh?” she bent down to her mother-in-law’s level. “Oh, sorry, some other hospital in Lake Oswego. Whatever!”

  Joseph didn’t hear the answer the nurse gave his stepmother. But by the time he reached them, Reina was already wheeling their grandmother to Angelica’s room. Juanita pointed to her grandson and said, “Told you it was his baby.” Nobody bothered to correct her.

  Verónica almost ran her stepson over when she whipped around to follow the rest of her family down the hall. Balloons created a cacophony of latex rubbing together, and the woman’s stiletto heels came to a screeching halt on the linoleum.

  “Josef! What are you doing here? Come to see Angelica’s little baby?” Her grin was only matched by her need to regain control of the balloons. Joseph reached up and grabbed them by their bases until they finally stilled in the air. “I knew you would be here. But then your grandmother started talking about the baby being yours. Think she might be a bit addled in the head these days.”

  “As long as you know the truth, tia.”

  “Of course! Which is why you need to get busy with that gringa of yours and get your papa and me some little Montoyas. This is how it works, Josef. Your ex-girlfriend has a baby, and now you have been blessed to continue your own family line. Because my sons can’t tell their asses from their peckers and I’ll be damned if I’m the only Mexicana at the country club who doesn’t have a grandbaby by fifty! Fifty, Josef! My mother was a grandmother by thirty-five. This is a point of pride for me!”