by Kelli Walker
Robert was right. There wouldn’t be any way for me to do this with the company. The nausea was too much and my pregnancy was only going to get worse from here. The stress alone of ten-hour rehearsal days would put my body under too much duress.
And I wanted to be a mother too badly to jeopardize it.
I pulled back from the trash can and the maestro offered me a bottle of water. I swished it around and spit a few times, then stood up on my feet. Everyone was staring at me as Lacey slid her arm around my waist. She walked me over to where she was sitting and sat me down beside her.
Then, the meeting began.
“As you all know, we have a sister company over in Europe. They’re doing a European tour next year, and they’re allowing me to take a few of you along for the ride,” the maestro said. “I hate that I can’t take all of you, because this was single-handedly one of the best productions of Turandot I’ve been a part of. But, there are five people I have chosen to take with me.”
I listened as the names were rattled off. People clapped and hugged their necks. Some people were already crying because they knew they had been passed up. I laced my fingers with Lacey’s as I laid on her shoulder, and I could feel her trembling.
She was nervous, but she didn’t have anything to worry about.
“And last, but most certainly not least, Joanna Leone.”
A thunderous applause echoed across the room as I closed my eyes. Hearing my name was wonderful, but the reality of the situation was it hurt. I lifted my head and looked at Lacey, who was smiling from ear-to-ear.
But I knew what I had to do. Robert or not, it didn’t matter. I couldn't take this job and be the mother I need to be.
The mother I wanted to be.
“While I’m honored,” I said, “I can’t take the position.”
A hush fell over the room as Lacey squeezed my hand.
“There are personal reasons for my decision, but I’ve thought them through. I’ve weighed the pros and cons, and while I’m honored, I cannot accept. But-- if it’s okay with you, Maestro-- I do want you to consider taking Lacey.”
I looked over at my best friend as her jaw unhinged in shock.
“She performed the night before last underneath insane conditions. A last-minute call to stage, less than an hour to switch costumes. No time to go over the arias or the recitatives for the part. And she earned herself a standing ovation. She took a crowd that was disappointed in my leave and turned them into her first wave of fans. And I think that deserves an encore, if you ask me.”
Lacey threw her arms around me as I smiled into her neck.
“The offer should be given to her,” I said. “And I know you won’t regret it.”
“Well. That is an interesting turn of events. Are you sure, Miss Leone?”
I looked up at the Maestro as a smile spread across my cheeks.
“I’m very sure,” I said.
“Then Miss Bardot, the offer is yours if you wish to take it.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I would love to tour with you.”
I stood to my feet and wrapped my arms tightly around Lacey. I knew what this meant for us. It meant that after nine years of being together, we would go our separate ways. She would pack and be off to rehearsals and I would have to figure out where I went from here. Her rehearsals would be in New York, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be there.
For all I knew, I was headed home.
“Thank you so much,” Lacey said with a whisper. “How the hell am I ever going to repay you?”
“Send me tickets to your first performance,” I said. “Because I want to be there.”
I released her to the hounds and everyone was congratulating her. I was happy for my best friend, but at the same time I ached. That opportunity had been my guiding light throughout this entire tour. I was going to have a life for two more years before I had to figure out what to do with myself. And that was more than enough time for any premier soprano to establish a performance career.
But I couldn't be upset. As my hand settled on my stomach, a grin spread across my cheeks.
I was going to be a mother.
Something I thought I would never get to do.
“We should go celebrate,” Lacey said. “Get cake or ice cream or go see a movie.”
“Or you could go out with the four other people you’ll be stuck with for the next two years,” I said. “Plus, I can’t drink. And I know you want to drink when you celebrate.”
“Can we celebrate tonight then?” she asked.
“Will you know what your name is come tonight?”
“I’m not that bad of a drinker?”
“When you have a reason to celebrate, you are. We’ve got two more nights in this hotel. We can celebrate before we leave.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, Joanna.”
“We’ll think about it when we have to,” I said.
I hugged Lacey tightly before I headed out the door. I felt like taking a walk. To clear my head and get my emotions under control. They were spirling and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like feeling this way. I didn’t like the way my mind was swirling. It was making my nausea worse.
I stepped out of the hotel and began walking down the sidewalk. The sun was shining bright and my purse was thrown over my shoulder. People were bustling around with coffees in their hands and puppies at their feet. I saw mothers holding their children’s hands and pushing them in strollers. Carrying them on their backs and cradling them in their arms.
That would be me soon.
I would be one of those mothers.
A smile spread across my cheeks as my stomach began to settle. I set my sights on the coffee shop in front of me, suddenly craving a cinnamon roll. I drew in a deep breath of the fresh Chicago air as my mouth began to water.
Then the coffee shop disappeared as my body was ripped into the alleyway.
Robert
My phone ringing out into the room ruined the rest I was getting. The sun was streaming through the curtains of my rented penthouse, but the beauty of it was ruined by the incessant ringing of my phone.
But it was the emptiness of the bed beside me that caused my eyes to shoot open.
I rolled over and grabbed my cell phone as I sat up in bed. I searched around for any sign of Joanna as I stood from the bed. I looked down at the number calling me and I felt my blood run cold.
I recognized that number. What the hell did he want?
And where the fuck was Joanna?
I answered the call and the crying immediately began. Sobs were pouring through the phone as my eyes widened. Joanna. She was on the other end of the line crying.
I rushed into the kitchen in search of her clothes and they were nowhere to be found.
“You aren’t making decisions quick enough.”
“There’s no decision to be made,” I said as I barreled back into my room. “I’m not helping some former street thug I ran with to dictate what I do now that you need something.”
“You don’t get to kill my brother and get away with it,” Slate said.
“Your brother killed himself,” I said.
“Silence!”
“What are we, in seventeenth century England?” I asked.
“You killed my brother the night of that fight. You slaughtered people who brought you in as family in cold blood because you couldn't handle the life you had chosen. You drove away with bruises and broken knuckles, sure. But you fired bullets at us. Bullets that landed on people I loved dearly.”
“All you had to do was let me out. The only thing I asked was for the freedom to go to college and make something of myself. And you threatened my life, Slate. You told me I had chosen my path.”
“You did!”
“No. A scared little boy who had lost everything in his life picked his path. An angry teenager with C-average grades on a good day picked his path. But the man I grew to be hadn’t discovered the full potential of his abilities. And the
man I am today would’ve never chosen that path,” I said.
“It wasn't your decision to make, Robert. You took an oath and we took you in as family. And you left my brother lying in the street because you were scared.”
“No. I left him lying in the street because he tried to put a bullet in my head.
“Robert! Help me!”
I could hear Joanna’s muffled cries as I hopped into a pair of pants.
“You drove away beaten and battered, but some of them didn’t walk away from that firefight. My brother saved your life, Boulder. Twice. He saved your life and you left him to bleed out in the middle of the street!”
“Then he should’ve let me out. You all should’ve let me out,” I said.
“I spent years climbing the ranks. Scaling and hopping from one ally to another. I slaughtered innocent human life to get where I am today, just so I could stare you in the face before putting a bullet between your eyes.”
“Sounds like we’re not so different then,” I said.
“Please, no…” Joanna said with a whimper.
“Shut up, bitch!”
I heard a resounding crack on the other side of the phone and my blood started to boil.
“I’ll kill you for this. For every mark you leave on her body, I will backtrack your entire network and kill them as penance,” I said.
“You didn’t even have the balls to look my brother in the eyes as he died,” Slate said. “You don’t have the balls for anything close to that.”
“If you lay another hand on her, everything is off the table,” I said.
Slate started to laugh as I pulled a shirt over my head.
“You really thought I needed your protection? I don’t need anything from you, though it didn’t hurt to ask. I’ve protected myself for years. Guarded what was mine and kept steady towards my final goal. I have to admit though, I was curious to see if you would fork it over.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You took someone from me I loved And that means a score needs to be settled.”
“I will find you, Slate. And when I do, this will all end. I will make sure you never see the light of day again. Do you hear me? I was a boy when I fought for my right to have a life of my own, but I’m a man now. I’ve got resources you could only salivate over,” I said.
Silence fell on the other end of the line before I heard sniffling.
“Joanna?” I asked. “Joanna, can you hear me?”
“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly.
“Joanna, I promise you. I’m coming for you and I’ll explain-”
But the call went dead before I could reassure her.
I roared into the empty space of my bedroom. I gathered up my things and ran for the door, ripping it open as I strode out into the hallway. I looked down at my phone and clocked the area code, recognizing the district of Chicago the phone had called from. I hopped into my car and told my driver to head south, then called the head of my security team. A quick look up online forced me to call the head of my security team, and thankfully he was at his home.
“Mr. Cargill?”
“Maynard, thank fuck. I need you to do something for me.”
“What’s going on, sir?”
“I need you to use whatever equipment you have at your disposal and see if you can get into my phone.”
“You want me to hack your phone,” he said.
“Yes. I do. I need you to try and help me trace a call that’s already taken place.”
“What?”
“I need you to stop asking questions and do what I’m asking you to do,” I said.
“You can’t trace a call that’s already taken place, Mr. Cargill. What's going on?”
“I got a call from someone and I need to find him. Now.”
“Do you have his phone number?”
“I do, yes.”
“Give it to me,” he said.
I rattled off the number Slate had called from and waited. We were entering the part of Chicago where the area code would’ve originated from, but there was no guarantee that was where Slate was. I heard Maynard grunting and sighing as his fingers typed away, and every second that passed I was growing more and more worried.
“Come on. What are you doing?” I asked.
“Giving you what you want. But it takes time. Hold on,” he said.
I heard him typing more in the background as my driver pulled over on the side of the road. I held up a finger telling him to wait, but my patience was wearing thin.
It had been fifteen minutes since that phone call.
Which was plenty of time for Slate to kill Joanna.
“Got it,” Maynard said. “The cell phone with that number is sitting at an address on the southside of Chicago. I’m sending you the address now.”
My phone lit up against my cheek and I held it out for my driver to see.
“That address. Now,” I said.
“Mr. Cargill. Are you okay? Do you need one of my men to fly out to Chicago?” he asked.
“No. I’m okay. I want everyone at the company. How are things going there?”
“You received another letter.”
“I know. James has already called me about it twice. Whatever it is, it can wait.”
“Are you sure, sir?”
“Yes,” I said. “Because the asshole sending the letters is the number I just asked you to track.”
“I’m sending my guys out there.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“No offense, but you hired me to protect you, Mr. Cargill. Had I known you were chasing down this idiot yourself, you would’ve never taken off the ground in that jet of yours without me there. Where are you stationed?”
“My secretary has all that information. I have to go,” I said.
“Mr. Cargill. Wait-”
But I shut off the call before Maynard could finish.
As we approached the address, I could feel my gut
Joanne
An arm wrapped around me and I was dragged down the alleyway. I kicked and tried to scream out, but the hand wrapped around my mouth was preventing me from doing so. I clung to the forearm of my assailant, thrashing and trying to get away. But he was too strong and I was too nauseous and overwhelmed from the meeting that morning.
I was pulled through a door and it closed with a thud. I was still being dragged as his hand fell from my face. water was Dripping as I was tossed into a chair, and suddenly I could no longer hear the traffic on the road. I couldn't feel the sun on my face or smell the coffee from the shop I had been headed to. I couldn't hear people yelling at one another across the street or car horns honking or even people telling me to get out of their way because I was moving too slowly.
The only thing I heard was something being scraped across the floor.
It was black. Dark as night in whatever abandoned building my assailant had pulled me into. I was shaking. My head was spinning with everything that was happening. What was going on? Where was I? Why in the world would someone want to pluck me off the street? Were they going to hurt me? Was I going to die?
Was anyone going to recognize that I was missing?
My eyes darted around the room but it was no use. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't get my bearings and I couldn't identify anything that was sitting around me. I have never felt so scared and so alone in my entire life. I wrapped my arm mindlessly around my stomach, trying to guard the help with white inside of me.
Then, a chuckle came from the darkness.
“So precious, a mother and her protective ways.”
I furrowed my brow at the statement.
“I recognize your voice,” I said.
“You should. We met earlier.”
Something moved in front of me before a light began its illumination. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust to the bright light in front of my body. I shied away from it, pressing into the cold metal chair my body had been slung into. But when I got my bearings and opened my
eyes, I gasped.
I knew the man in front of me.
It was the my self-professed fan from Robert’s apartment complex.
“What do you want?” I asked. “Why am I here?”
But all he did was hold a phone up to his ear as it rang.
I started crying. Harder than I had ever cried in my entire life. The look in this man's I was not kind. It was borderline psychotic. I knew I was going to die. For whatever reason I had been targeted, and this man has followed me. I don't know where he had seen me and I don't know why he had chosen me, but he knew I would be at Robert’s. He knew I had been there and he knew the hotel I was going back and he waited.
In the darkness.
For the proper moment to strike.
I was crying so hard I couldn't hear what the man was talking about. He said something about decisions and something about his brother. Or someone’s brother. There was something about protection, or money. Being slow, or not needing it. I really wasn't sure. I knew I needed to be paying attention and I knew I needed to try and find a way out of this place. It wasn't like I was tied to the chair or restrained in any way.
But I couldn't see anything around me.
For all I knew, there were traps waiting for me the moment I stood up.
However, there was something he said that caught my attention. A name this man said that made my heart thunder against my chest.
“It wasn't your decision to make, Robert. You took an oath and we took you in as family. And you left my brother lying in the street because you were scared.”
Robert.
This man was talking to Robert.
“Robert! Help me!” I said.
The man sitting in front of me shot me a wry smile. Like he enjoyed the fact that I was yelling out for this man. What decision was he talking about? Why was he accusing Robert of killing his brother? He must have had the wrong person. Robert was many things, but a killer wasn't one of them. Sure, he was rough around the edges. Yes, he was a pretty impressive playboy. He could swing crude remarks with the rest of them and he frequently let his money do the talking.
But murder?
That wasn't Robert. It couldn't be. There was no way I could be carrying a killer's child. There had to be another side to this.