by Cm Hutton
“I understand, Antonio. I won’t leave the property. I’ll probably just sit by the pool and read. I saw some books in the library downstairs, and I really have no energy to wonder around.” His smile told me he was very pleased with my answer.
He leaned down, kissed my forehead, and said, “Good. Now, I’m off to do some work. I will be in the office on the first floor if you need anything.”
“Got it.” I smiled.
When he left the room, I cleaned up, brushed my teeth, put my hair in a ponytail, and dressed in the lovely outfit that now was becoming my prison-wear. Maybe that was part of his plan…that I wouldn’t want to escape looking like a mess. The thought made me laugh. I’d run buck naked through town if it got me away from him and back to Jason. I shook my head, still laughing, and walked to the kitchen for some food.
The day passed rather quickly as I sat undisturbed, reading by the pool. I only saw Antonio once when he brought me some lunch. I thanked him, and he kissed me before walking back inside the house. I could hear him on the phone a few times or talking to his men, but other than that, I was completely engrossed in my book.
As the sun started to go down, I went inside to see what I could find for dinner. One of the men who’d taken me sat at the kitchen island, working on his computer. I’d had no interaction with them at all and wondered where they had been. I paused, looking at him before I came any closer. My mind suddenly clicked. He must have been assigned to watch me all day. There was a clear view of my chair from where he sat, and it would explain why I hadn’t seen Antonio lurking around. He turned to look at me and gave me a small, tight smile. I just stared.
I walked to the refrigerator and pulled open the door. It was full of food. What the hell?!?!
I took out several things to make a sandwich as the kidnapper looked on. I had no desire to have anything to do with him. Had we ended up in Italy, this man could have been doing God knows what to me.
So, I continued to make my dinner, ignoring the asshole, and then sat at the same island to eat my food. I did it to be a ballsy bitch, and it made me feel better until about halfway through my sandwich he said, “I was only doing my job.”
My mouth dropped open, shocked. Then, out of nowhere, I said, “And that job could have killed an innocent woman. Tell me, was it you or your partner that hit my girlfriend with the butt of your gun? She has nothing to do with this. At. All.” He had the nerve to look embarrassed.
“It was him. I didn’t hit her.” Ahh…
“So, it was you who hit me. Well, thanks for that. Glad you were just doing your job.” He stared at me, then said, “I didn’t know you were pregnant. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, we both know that part didn’t really matter. Either way, you were just doing your job.” I stood and left the room in search of Antonio. As much of a bastard as he was, I at least knew him and felt safer knowing his men wouldn’t touch me as long as he was happy.
I walked upstairs just to escape, but then heard Antonio on the phone and could tell he was upstairs somewhere. As I walked down the hallway toward his voice, I could hear him speaking rapidly in Italian. He was angry. I debated going to him. I was sure he was still talking about business, but when he spoke so fast, it was sometimes difficult for me to pick up all the words.
You know, people always say “hindsight is 20/20” meaning, looking back, it was clearly seen…the situation, the outcome. But we don’t always want to listen to those instincts. I hesitated walking up behind Antonio, but did it anyway. The kidnapper gave me an uneasy feeling that drove me to seek out the devil I knew as opposed to the devil I didn’t. Big mistake.
As I stepped into the room and walked close to the balcony where he stood, Antonio turned and glared at me. He was angry, fist balled, teeth clinched. I stopped and waited…watched. He stomped toward me, causing me to take a few steps backwards. “Antonio. What’s wrong? Talk to me. You’re scaring me.” I placed my hand on my stomach as a reminder to him. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stopped his pursuit. “Please.”
“Mia moglie.” My wife. “Tell me about your friend, Jason.”
I gasped. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Do you love him?”
“Where is this coming from, Antonio. You’re scaring me.”
“I heard some disturbing things today.”
“Tell me what you heard.” I felt like I might faint.
“Did you turn to him, mia moglie? Did my wife turn to another man?” Oh shit.
“Antonio. Please. Things with us are so fragile, so volatile, and have been for a long time. I thought we were starting over?” I was grasping at straws.
“Yes. I was trying. But this? Well, I cannot overlook your weakness, your error in judgment.” He started walking toward me again.
“Stop. Talk to me. Tell me what you want.” I was steadily backing away from him. He kept staring at my stomach, and I could see the confusion, the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to hurt me, but he didn’t want to hurt the baby…and it was tearing him apart. I knew, right then, without a doubt he would never change. And I was in trouble. “Antonio. Whatever has you so angry, please don’t hurt me or your baby.” I emphasized the word “your.”
He stopped walking and watched me. “Mia moglie, tell me the truth, and I will forgive you. I will let my anger go.”
“Yes, anything.”
“Did you and your Jason fuck?” His question took my breath away. I covered my mouth and felt tears well in my eyes. I had to answer. No, we didn’t fuck, we made love. But that would make things worse.
I bent my head down to my chest, knowing what was coming and whispered, “Yes.”
The slap rattled my already bruised brain and I fell to the floor, holding my cheek. Antonio leaned down and said, “I want to hurt you so badly for hurting me…for betraying me. You let another man touch what is mine. I have every right to punish you. But you told the truth, so a slap is all you will get. Now get up and go to bed. I cannot be around you right now. We will discuss more of this tomorrow.”
I started to move, to crawl away, but my head was swimming and I was having trouble focusing. “I said get up and go.”
“I’m trying. So. Dizzy. I’m sorry.” My words were coming out weird. He yanked me up by my hair, and I stood on wobbly feet.
“Go. Now. I cannot restrain myself much more. I’m trying, Lori Ann. You need to get away from me.”
“Yes. Trying.” I stumbled back and fell again, but kept crawling away from him as I could hear a lot of strange commotion. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from and didn’t care as long as I kept moving away from Antonio.
The next thing I knew, Antonio was grabbing me off the floor, holding me too tightly in his arms and yelling at someone. I tried to look, but couldn’t as my eyes rolled into my head. What was happening? Shit! “What did you do, mia moglie? What the hell did you do? How does he know we are here? How did he find you?” I didn’t understand any of it. But the anger coming off of Antonio was so frightening, so feral I thought he’d snap my body in half. In my confusion, I thought I heard Jason’s voice, but that couldn’t be right.
“Put her down!” That voice.
“She’s not yours. You will never have her. Did she tell you she is having my child? She will never, ever leave me. I will make certain of that.” Antonio’s grip tightened even more. He was hurting me, and I was having trouble breathing.
“You gave up that right when you broke her ribs, fractured her arm, and didn’t give a fuck about her. You should know, I’ll never let you leave here with her. We will all be dead before I let that happen. Now, put her down.” Jason?
“You have very poor timing, friend. I was just discussing Lori Ann’s infidelity and how we would handle her punishment. This is a matter between me and my wife. You have no place here. Your time with her is over.” I moved, trying to free myself, but it was futile. “Do not move, mia moglie. You aren’t going anywhere. I’m very disappointed. How did you alert him? This c
hanges our agreement, Lori Ann. I can no longer guarantee his safety.”
Like an electric shock to my malfunctioning brain, I opened my eyes to see Antonio glaring between me and…Jason! I cried out without thinking. “No! Run, Jace. Please. He’ll hurt you!”
“No, Legs! Never! I’m here, baby. I’m here for you.”
In an instant, all civility, all humanity left Antonio’s eyes, and he opened his arms wide and let go of me, causing me to free fall to the floor with a hard thunk, knocking the breath out of me as he lunged for Jason. “NO! She. Is. Not. Yours. You will never take her from me! I will kill her first.” I struggled to catch my breath, but couldn’t. Everything hurt.
“LEGS!” I heard Jason scream before he was tackled by Antonio and they went rolling, beating the hell out of each other. “Fuck you! You’ll never touch her again, asshole!” Punches were being thrown, and blood was flying everywhere. “How does it feel to have someone beating your ass? Huh? No words?” Jason screamed.
I tried to move against the wall, away from the brawl, but my movements were too slow. Their bodies were tripping and falling my way. I curled into a ball to protect myself just as I felt a kick land against my arms and legs that were wrapped around themselves to protect my stomach.
“NO!” Jason?
Then, another kick. This one to my back, causing me to arch and let go of my legs. Fuck! I couldn’t breathe. The pain was everywhere. Then, one last kick…to my stomach before I heard a loud pop and an eerie calm settle around me.
Please, God. Help Jason.
Chapter 26
Jason
I ran as fast as I could as I watched the slow motion movie take place before my eyes. I never looked down at the ground, only at the second story of the house. I watched as Lori Ann approached Antonio and saw his fists balled. I watched as she backed away from him, afraid.
Then, everything stopped.
I was sucker punched by someone who stepped out of the shadows. I shook it off and went after him, fury and fear driving me. I tackled him to the ground and kept punching his face until he was beyond responding. Then, I took off running into the house. Another man was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up as if to see whether he needed to go up and help either Antonio or Lori Ann.
By the time he registered me in the room, I’d punch his kidney and sent him to the ground. I pulled my gun and put my finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet. Then, I struck him in the temple with the butt of my gun and knocked his ass out. He was one of the guys from the surveillance tape…the one that hit my girl. Fucker!
I could hear Lori Ann pleading with The Italian, and I was pissed.
I bounded up the stairs and saw him…standing over her. He bent and picked her up, cradling my girl. Oh. Hell. No.
“NO! Stay back. Now,” he yelled at me. Then, Antonio looked down at Lori Ann and said, “What did you do, mia moglie? What the hell did you do? How does he know we are here? How did he find you?”
I knew no matter what, I couldn’t let him leave with her…ever.
That’s when things went from bad to worse.
*****
The shot rang out just past my head and hit Antonio. He fell to the ground. Dead. I looked over the railing to downstairs and saw Craig, his gun drawn, his face sweaty and pale.
I crawled over to Lori Ann, and she flinched when I touched her, but I scooped her into my arms anyway and sat against the wall with her in my lap. “Shh…baby. It’s me. Look at me.”
She turned, but the pain she felt registered on her face. “Jace?” She was having trouble breathing. “Please tell me you’re real.”
“Yes, baby. I’m here. Just in time, it looks like. Where are you hurt?”
“I don’t know. He…slapped…me. But, now… Oh, God. Is he?”
“Jace, you okay? Our girl?” Craig yelled. “We are going to search the house, make sure we’re alone. The other two fuckers are cuffed, cops and ambulance are on their way.”
“Okay, thanks, man. Go. I’ve got her,” I yelled back.
“Oh, baby.” I kissed her forehead. “You are so smart. That phone trick was exactly what we needed. Hell, I was about to board a plane to Italy and go get you.”
“Craig? Antonio? Oh, God.” She started sobbing, but her ragged breathing had me worried. She was still having trouble catching her breath.
“Shh…it’s over. Don’t cry, baby. Just try to catch your breath. He’s dead, and I’m not sorry Craig shot him either. He was going after you…determined to hurt you worse than ever, maybe kill you. I saw it on his face. Thank God we got here when we did. We’re are taking you home.”
She kept crying, but managed to say, “He was taking me there, to Italy.” Her breathing slowly sounded better. “But when I told him about the…” Her voice trailed off. “Jace…”
“What’s wrong?” Her face was pale, and I was scared. Please God, don’t take her away. Not. Now.
“I’m hurt. He dropped me, kicked my stomach and back.” Tears streamed down her face. “Is the baby…”
“I don’t know. We will get you both checked out. The ambulance is coming. Right now, let me check your other injuries without moving you too much. Tell me what hurts the most.”
“I don’t want to move. Please. Just in case.” She stared at my face and said, “He didn’t hurt me until tonight. He said he found out about me and you. He was angry, but only slapped me, but it caused my head to get really dizzy. He said he was restraining himself, but only barely.”
“I saw him pick you up by your hair. That isn’t restraint, Lori Ann.” I shook my head, trying not to show my anger. Really?
“For him, it was.” What. The. Fuck.
“No.” I cupped her cheek. “That is still abuse, and you know it. Do not make excuses for him. I won’t let you. Understand?”‘
She started to cry harder, and I felt like shit. “I’m sorry.” I kissed her lips. “I’ve just been out of my mind worrying about you, looking for you.” I gently rocked her in my arms and kissing all over her face. “I’m so sorry. Don’t cry. Please.”
She calmed down after a few minutes and gripped my shirt with her right hand. “Jace?”
“Yes, baby?” I placed my hand over hers.
“I had sex with him…more than once.” Tears streamed down her face. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do.” Well, fuck.
I took a deep breath and said, “I know.”
“What?”
“Baby, I knew what he would want. I hate it. God, how I hate it. But I understand.” I kissed her beautiful lips and tried to show her how much I loved her.
“Jace, I’m so sorry.” She cried in my arms, her tears soaking my tee shirt.
I lifted her face to look at mine. “Hey, let’s just forget about it. We’re okay. I promise. I don’t care about what you had to do to stay safe. All I care about is having you back in my arms. And we are going to make sure you are well enough to travel so we can go home and let your body heal completely.” I watched as a tiny smile formed on her lips. “There’s my girl.” I kissed her mouth and placed my forehead against hers. “I love you so much and when all this over, we are going to have the life we both deserve. You and me, Legs. We belong together and anyone else…” I placed my hand on her stomach and she winced, worrying me “…anyone else that comes along will only add joy to our home, no pain, no regret. Got it?”
“Yes, Jace. Got it.” She smiled, but I could see she was still in pain. “I love you. Thank you for saving me again.”
“I’ll always save you, baby. Always.” I heard the sirens coming close to the house. “Help is here. We’re going to sit here and let them come up to check on you.”
“Okay. I’m so tired, Jace.”
“Just lean on me. Don’t go to sleep. I’ve got you. I won’t let you out of my sight, not ever again.”
Craig appeared at the top of the stairs. “How are we doing, Legs?” I glared at him, but couldn’t hold it. He deserved to call her whatever th
e hell he wanted.
“Craig.” She looked over and reached her hand out for him. He stepped closer and took it as he kneeled next to us. “I’ve been better. Thank you.”
He kissed her hand and said, “You’re my girl, too, Lori Ann, and there was no way in hell I wasn’t coming with Jace to find you.”
“Keri? Please tell me she’s okay.” Tears were slowly running down her cheeks again.
“She’s just fine. Concussion, but okay. She insisted I come get you back.”
“She did?”
“Yes,” Craig and I said in unison.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever…” I covered her lips with mine.
“Stop. We love you.”
The paramedics reached the top of the stairs, and as I relayed all of the injuries Lori Ann had, Craig stepped away and joined Ty and Frank as they spoke to the police downstairs. One paramedic checked on Antonio, then shook his head to his partner and carefully covered his body with a blue cloth.
When I told them about the kicks and the baby, the paramedics looked to each other and sped up their activity. They wasted no time carefully prying Lori Ann from my arms, causing her to scream in pain and reach for my hand.
“Where does it hurt, ma’am?” the tall, older man asked.
“My stomach and ribs.”
“So, you said you already had broken ribs and he kicked you there?”
“Yes and it hurts here.” She pointed to her stomach, and a huge knot formed in my gut. I had a really bad feeling about the baby. I couldn’t imagine how it survived the force of the kick I witnessed.
“Okay, we are going to get you loaded in the ambulance and to the hospital as quickly as we can.”
“Yes,” was all she said.
“I’m going with her. I’m not letting this woman out of my sight.”
“That’s fine, sir. But you have to let us take care of her.”
“I will.”
As we made our way down the stairs, I heard Craig giving all the details to the police about everything that had transpired over the last several weeks. He handed over his gun, and we gave badge numbers, along with relevant contact information for them to corroborate our story and gather other pertinent information. I was grateful the detectives that accompanied the officers didn’t make me stay behind for questioning. Instead, one rode along with Lori Ann and me to the hospital and continued to take our part of the statement. It was difficult for her to speak through the pain at times, but my girl relayed as much of it as she could, and the detective nodded in understanding.