by Rose Cody
“She’s been up for a while.” Johnny says, looking over to Amber as her mouth hangs open.
“And you’ve been awake, too?” She asks, her eyes wide.
“Of course I have.” He says, shifting to ease the stiffness in his joints. “I’m a professional, you think I would just fall asleep on the job like that?”
Amber rubs her tired eyes as she peaks her head into the kitchen and then back to Johnny.
“And you didn’t think to like, I don’t know, sit somewhere else when my mom got up?” She asks, motioning towards the love seat and the easy chair. “Or at the very least not wrap your arms around me…”
“Well, if you told your parents the truth and didn’t hide the reason I’m really here with games we wouldn’t be in this mess.” Johnny says in a whisper, pursing his lips as he rubs his tongue against the front of his teeth. “Would you rather your parents think I’m your boyfriend, or would you rather they know that you invited a member of the Ambrosini Crime Family into your living room….”
“Why do those have to be the only two choices!?” Amber asks shaking her hands in the air before sucking in a deep breath to calm herself down.
She shrugs her shoulders listening to the soft clink of her mom placing plates on the kitchen table before she turns to Johnny and grabs his hand.
“Well, pretend boyfriends have to come and eat breakfast with the family.” She says, standing up.
He smirks, looking out the window one last time before letting her pull him up and lead him into the kitchen.
“Sorry, sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you two up.” Her mom says as she dishes fried potatoes and chives onto plates in front of seats before rushing back over to the stove and lifting a pan of scrambled eggs before doing the same with them.
“That’s fine.” Amber says, her face flushing as she sits down at the table. “That smells good, mom.”
“Thank you, darling.” She says, before looking up at a hesitating Johnny. “Sit! Sit! Please!”
Johnny sits himself down beside Amber, nodding at her mother as she brings over a plate of crispy bacon and places some on his plate with metal tongs.
“Thank you so much for coming over, Johnny.” She says, smiling at him. “I’m very happy that Amber has someone to, uh, help her through tough times.”
“Mom…” Amber whispers under her breath as she smiles while watching her dad walk down the stairs in his grey sweat suit. “Good morning, daddy.” She whispers to him, watching him sit down as she picks up her fork.
She spears a potato, popping the crispy fried cube into her mouth before looking over at Johnny awkwardly digging around his plate.
“Eat!” She laughs, smiling at him as she watches him lift a piece of bacon into his mouth before breaking it off with his teeth. “Mom always makes it extra crispy.”
“You like it crispy, Johnny?” Her mom asks, finally sitting down at the table to enjoy her breakfast, too.
“Yes, ma’am.” He says, nodding his head as he picks up his fork and digs into his second home cooked meal in 24 hours. “You got any ketchup?”
They eat, the conversation lacking as they fill their bellies but the silence not at all unwelcome as the morning birds sing just outside the kitchen window.
“What’s that?” Amber whispers as she hears scratching coming from the front porch. “It sounds like someone is walking up our front steps.”
“The mailman’s never come this early before.” Amber’s father says, gently putting down his fork before attempting to get up from his chair.
“No, sit down.” Johnny says quickly, eyeing the door as they hear the lid of the mailbox squeak.
“Johnny, be careful…” Amber whispers to him quietly as she watches him get up from his seat and quickly make his way into the living room.
He bends over, pulling his black duffle bag out from under the coffee table before pulling the zipper open and throwing back the flap.
“Oh my, God!” Amber’s mother yelps, the guns gleaming in the morning sunlight pouring through the windows, before bringing her hands up to cover her mouth as Amber shushes her.
They all watch, holding their breathes as Johnny slowly makes his way over to the front door, gun drawn, and peaks outside.
He looks back after not seeing anyone and shakes his head quietly before reaching out to grip the doorknob.
Johnny turns the knob before pulling the door open and stepping outside. He looks to the right and then to the left before lifting the lid to the mailbox and pulling out a small, folded note.
“Someone has a message for you.” He says, stepping back inside the living room before locking the door and unfolding the letter. “It says ‘Eighty-Five thousand dollars, Tomorrow night, 10pm. Have the money ready. We’ll come to you. Remember what happened last time.’ At least that’s what I think it says, not the neatest handwriting…”
He tosses the note onto the kitchen table and Amber reaches to snatch it up.
She unfolds the note, her fingers shaking as she looks over the scribbled words, the blood draining from her face and leaving her ghost white.
“Don’t worry, Amber.” Johnny says, smirking as he places his hand on her shoulder. “This couldn’t be more perfect.”
Chapter 15
“Amber, I can’t believe this…” Her dad says, lifting the note up off the table to read it, exactly like he’s done the other forty times since Johnny left. “I just… I can’t believe this.”
“I know, I know.” She says rubbing her palms into her eyes as she rests her elbows on the table. “I thought this was the right thing to do.”
“What?!” He says, tossing the paper onto the table as he leans back into his chair and crosses his arms. “So you’re telling me…” He starts. “That my daughter thought the right thing to do was to take all of our insurance money, no, I’m sorry, all of my insurance money, all the money we have in the whole entire world right now…”
He rubs his face as he lets out a deep shaking breath.
“You thought it would be a good idea to that that money… and give it… to the MAFIA!?” He yells, slamming his hands down on the table as her mother buries her face in her hands and sobs.
“And I’m sorry!” She says, a frog growing in her throat. “I didn’t think anything bad would happen…”
“You didn’t think anything bad would happen?” He says, leaning forward, his voice cracking. “Amber, everything those thugs have done, the fucking mafia has done ten times worse! I wouldn’t be surprised if they fucking invented burning buildings to the ground!”
“They’re going to help us!” Amber says, wiping a falling tear from her cheek. “They promised me they would help us. Johnny left to go and get us some help!”
“Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, who is this Johnny?” Her dad asks, tossing his hand into the air. “You didn’t even know what was in that fucking duffle bag! What makes you think he’s going to tell you his real name?!”
“Well, I don’t care.” Amber says, crossing her arms over her chest as she stares down her father.
“Well, you better start caring because guess who’s coming over!” Her dad says, picking up the note to crumple it into a little ball.
“I know.” She whispers, her voice low and shaking. “But I promise you nothing will happen to me. You and mom need to pack a bag and go on a little drive…”
“Excuse me!?” Her father says, cutting her off. “No, I don’t think so, I’m not going to just leave you here!”
“Johnny will be here.” She says. “They’re professionals.”
“Professionals?!?!” Her mother shrieks. “They’re mobsters! Hit men! Criminals! You can’t trust someone like that!”
“He will protect me!” Amber says, raising her voice to her mother.
“Protect you?!” She yells back. “He’s in the mafia! What makes you think he’ll protect you!?”
“Because I love him!” Amber screams back, her voice breaking.
Her mother gulps deep
ly, folding her arms as Amber brushes her fingers over her eyebrows.
“Now, go and pack your bags.” She says, calming herself down. “You need to be out of here by tonight in case they decide to do a jump on us.”
Chapter 16
“Alright, so we park over here…” One of the guys says, pointing to a street a few blocks from Amber’s house. “And we go through the alleys and in the backdoor. They’re going to have eyes on the front of the house maybe even a few hours ahead, so at no point in time are we going to go anywhere near that street.”
They all nod their heads, studying the map as they memorize the area.
“Once they’re there,” Johnny starts, looking up from the map. “Once the thugs are in the house, then they’re surrounded. They’re not going to get away. We don’t really need Amber there, do we?”
“Oh, come on, Johnny.” Joe says, pressing his palm against Johnny’s back. “You know we need her to get them in the house, she’s got to get the door.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course.” Johnny says, rubbing the back of his neck as he sighs out nervously. “But she’s really not much of a cooperator, you know? She might just get in the way.” He says, forcing a chuckle.
“What is this!?” Joe asks, squinting his eyes. “Don’t tell me Johnny’s getting soft!”
“Joe… come on. Come on!” Johnny says, straightening his back as he pushes Joe playfully on the shoulder. “She was pretty shaken up yesterday when I last saw her, though, and her family… Her parents have already been through so much.”
“Since when do you care?” Joe asks him, contorting his face to look confused.
“I don’t care!” Johnny defends himself. “Hysteria just makes my job harder is all!”
“If everybody knows what they gotta do, then it’s time to start heading out.” One of the guys says, pointing one last time on the map. “We meet here.” He says, tapping his finger. “Here. Not there, but here.”
“Yeah, yeah, we got it!” Johnny hears Joe say as he walks away, making his way back behind the bar before walking down the hall and stopping in at the bathroom.
He pushes his way inside before walking over to the sink and turning the cold water on as he feels his energy getting more and more nervous.
Joe was right, Johnny’s never really cared about a client this much before. Hell, any other day and the person the client should be most worried about is probably him!
But with Amber…
Johnny bends over, letting out a steady breath as he splashes a handful of ice cold water onto his face before resting his hands on the side of the sink and letting the water drip off.
“Come on! Let’s go! Two minutes everybody!” He hears being called just outside the bathroom door.
He sighs, reaching for a paper towel before patting the water off of his face with it.
Johnny turns around, his stomach flipping as he leans against the bathroom counter before tossing the balled up paper towel over to the garbage can, missing the container completely.
“I’ve never been so nervous before a job before.” He whispers to himself, walking over to the wadded paper towel on the floor to pick up and place in the trash properly this time. “I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her…. I fucking love that girl so much…”
He sighs, bouncing up and down and shaking himself out before walking back over to the sink and straightening his jacket in the mirror.
“Alright then.” He says, sucking in another deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 17
Amber rubs her palms over her eyes as she coughs before spitting the last of what came up into the toilet bowl.
She stands up, walking over to the sink and turning on the tap before sinking her head down into the sink and sucking in some of the cool running water to swish around her mouth.
“If I could stop throwing up for a second, that’d be great.” She whispers to herself, as she wipes the back of her shaking hand against her mouth.
She holds herself up against the bathroom counter, closing her eyes as she takes breath after breath, desperately trying to relax herself.
Well, this is it.” She says, opening her eyes and looking at herself in the mirror. “I can’t turn back now.”
She walks over to the toilet, cringing as she flushes it before sitting on the side wall of the bathtub.
“I’m just glad my parents came to their senses and left.” She says, scratching an itch under her ponytail before standing back up and walking towards the bathroom door.
She steps out of the bathroom, before walking down the stairs, taking ginger steps in an attempt to keep herself quiet.
Amber walks into the kitchen, making her way towards the sink. She picks a cup off the counter and turns on the tap to fill it.
“They’ll be here any second…” She whispers to herself as she puts the cup under the running water. “And then…Whatever happens, happens, I guess. But at least it will be over.”
She leans her butt against the counter as she sips from the cup, the small gulps of water easing her nausea.
“Oh my, God…” She whispers under her breath as she hears a quiet knock on the back door.
She places the cup back onto the counter before nervously gliding over to the door at the other side of the kitchen that leads into her backyard.
Amber hesitates, her entire body fighting to reject her every command as she slowly reaches for the doorknob as another light knock happens.
She bites the inside of her lip as she swings the door open, stepping back as six or seven men rush past her and very quickly place themselves around her front room.
“Is that the money?” She asks, watching as a man places a large briefcase on the kitchen table in full view of the front door.
She jumps as she feels someone’s warm hand wrap around hers and she quickly turns to see Johnny as he begins to pull her close to him.
“Johnny, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do…” She whispers to him as their embrace breaks.
He grips the tops of her arms gently as he rubs his palms up and down them as he kneels down to look into her eyes.
“Answer the door. That’s all. Answer the door, let them in and then disappear.” He says, placing a small kiss on her forehead. “Go upstairs and hide in the bathtub. Go into the basement. It doesn’t matter… just back up, we’ll surround them and then you run and hide as fast as you can. And don’t come out for any reason until I come and get you.”
“Are you sure?” She asks, frantically nodding her head as her stomach flips and the room begins to spin.
“Open the door. Back up. Run away.” He repeats, his voice soft and husk. “Don’t worry about anything else, alright?”
She nods before stopping and sucking in her breath as the whole room falls silent as someone knocks on the front door.
“I’m so scared…” She whispers, her worried eyes looking at Johnny.
“It’s alright, you’ll do great.” He whispers back to her as he gently pushes her forward towards the door.
She looks back towards Johnny, watching his head nod up and down with reassurance as he crouches down, raising his gun towards the front door.
Amber works up the courage, flinching as she hears the knock at the door again, louder this time.
She grabs the doorknob, turning it to let them inside. As she pulls the door open just a crack she gasps as she feels the door push back at her.
“Where’s my money!?” Oliver shouts as he steps inside, a group of men following close behind.
“Amber, move!” She hears, ring out from behind her as her frozen body fights to turn around and run away.
She steps back out of the way as she watches the suited men pull the thugs inside the house before a loud bang shakes the air around her.
The world stops around her as she feels a searing, burning pain in her side.
“Johnny…” She whispers, as the room begins to spin and the floor raises to meet her face.
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Chapter 18
“Amber, move!” Johnny screams as he watches the woman stand there in fear as the thugs push inside her house.
He quickly lowers his gun as he runs forward towards her, reaching out to her to pull her back before the loud bang of a gunshot stops him in his tracks.
“No!” He says as watches Amber slowly turn around, her hand covering up her quickly staining shirt as she slowly falls to her knees.