by Bella Jewel
I’m stuck here, Tommy is restless and hungry, and he’s crying. I don’t want him to feel this way, and it’s making everything so much harder. My chest is aching, my heart racing, and I feel sick. I don’t know what to do. Not only is she here, but her boyfriend is now, too. I don’t know if it’s the same one Nicolai spoke about, but he’s covered in tattoos and incredibly gruff. He also has a gun. So that’s two guns pointing our way.
They’ve been discussing their little plan, arguing over it, deciding what to do. I guess I ruffled her feathers when I said Nicolai would call the police. I bought us some time, at the very least. I have a bit of a plan in place, if I can get Tommy out of the way, somewhere they can’t get to him easily, then I can fight. I’ll fight. I’ll take that risk. If it means this little boy doesn’t get taken by them, I’ll do anything.
I could never, ever live with myself if they took him, and I didn’t stop it.
No, I’ll fight for my nephew.
Chastity and her boyfriend, I don’t even know his name, are talking amongst themselves. Then she says to him, “I’ll go and get our things, pack a bag, then I’ll come back and we’ll go ahead and stick to the plan.”
A bag?
Where the hell does she think she’s going to take Tommy?
No.
Over my dead body.
I clutch him closer. He’s sleepy, the poor darling.
“Twenty minutes, no longer. People will start to figure this out. Go.”
Chastity rushes out, and the ugly, bald, scary man she is obviously infatuated with, turns and grins at me. “Well, I guess it’s just me and you for a while.”
“Stay the hell away from me,” I snap.
He laughs, showing me his mouth, with two missing teeth. She went from Nicolai, to this? What the hell is wrong with her? Is she on drugs? What?
“What are you going to do?” He chuckles. “Fight me. Go ahead, try. I’m taking that boy. You’re going to go and get his things.”
“Absolutely fucking not,” I hiss, feeling so sick I want to scream.
I’m terrified, but I will not let them take Tommy.
I will not.
I’d rather die.
“Oh, you will. I’ll make you, if I have to. You wouldn’t want him to see me shoot you, would you?”
Would he? Would he shoot me?
I have studied every inch of my living room in the last hour, I’ve looked for anything I can use as a weapon. The only thing I can think of using is the lamp, which has a really solid base, and it’s close. I could hit someone hard over the head with that. As for Tommy, I know exactly what I’m going to tell him to do, I can only pray he’ll do it. Pray with every inch of my body he’ll listen.
A phone rings, and the man so stupidly turns and walks to get it. Answering it. He starts auguring with what is clearly Chastity. This is possibly my only chance. I turn quickly to Tommy, making him face me, then I whisper, “Do you remember today when we played hide and seek, and you got into my car and hid on the floor, and Aunty Lucy couldn’t find you anywhere?”
He nods, grinning.
“I want you to go and hide there again. No matter what you hear, I want you to stay there, okay. Be really quiet. Don’t let them find you. I want you hide the best you’ve ever hidden. If they find you, I want you to run as fast as you can, and hide somewhere else, okay? You can’t let them catch you, no matter what. We can’t let them win the game. If we win, I’ll take you to get that big awesome red truck you want!”
“Red truck.” Tommy claps.
“Yep, red truck. But you have to do as I ask, okay, honey? Can you hide and be so so super quiet?”
He nods, smiling.
“Go, run really fast and get into the car. Make sure the door is closed, and you lay on the ground, just like you did today, okay?”
He nods and stands, running.
I pray, oh, do I pray he does exactly as I’ve asked. He’s old enough to understand what I’m asking, I only hope he doesn’t think it’s too much of a game. Please, oh please, stay on the floor of that car. It’s cool enough that he should be okay on the floor of the car, and honestly, it should take them sometime to find him. Enough time for me to call someone, or fight, or do something.
I hear the car door close, and I look to see if creepy dude heard it, but he’s too busy telling off Chastity to hear. Thank god. Thank you god. I grab the lamp cord and tug until it unplugs. Then I slide the lamp closer and let go just as he turns around. His eyes flick to the sofa, to where Tommy is no longer, and he roars, “Where the fuck is the kid?”
“I told him to run to the neighbor’s house, he’s gone. You’re done for. You better get out of here because she will call the police.”
It’s a lie, but it’s a believable lie. Tommy could have gotten out and run to the neighbor, after all I do have a back door.
“You’re lying,” he bellows, storming toward me.
“Am I?” I say coolly, even though I want to be sick. “The neighbor is a good friend of mine, and he loves her. I told him to run over there, and tell her that a bad man is here hurting his aunty. He’ll do it, he’s a smart kid.”
“Fuck,” he barks, charging down the hallway of my house.
I stand and move quickly, grabbing the lamp. I spin around just as he is coming back up the hall. I swing quickly not thinking about it for a second longer. If I miss him, I’m screwed. Totally screwed.
I don’t miss.
The lamp smashes against his head with such force, the sound makes me want to vomit. The sickening crack fills the house and he drops to the ground, groaning in pain as blood pours from his forehead. I’ve slowed him down, a hell of a lot. He hisses in agony and I turn to run for my phone, but he lashes out with a hand, catching my ankle.
No.
I hit the ground with a wheeze and start kicking and squirming as he jerks me towards him. He’s a big man, strong, even with the injury I just gave him. I flip over onto my back, twisting my own leg and crying in pain, but I don’t care, I start slamming my foot against his face. He lets my leg go and lunges, like some sort of crazy fucking animal, slamming his body over top of mine.
His fist finds my face, and he hits, over and over. I turn my head away, crying out in agony, as blood flows from a wound in my eye and lip. I take a deep, staggering breath and ram my knee up into his balls. Bellowing, he rolls off. With blurred vision, I crawl further away from him and push to my feet, spotting his gun on the ground. I lunge for it, grabbing it with both hands and standing up, blood dripping from my face.
Pain, unlike anything I’ve ever felt, tears through my body, but I keep it together. I don’t cry or scream. My mind is on Tommy and if he’s okay.
He’s the only thing that matters to me.
The only thing.
My knees tremble as I hold the gun out, my hands rattling. I try so hard to keep them steady, desperately seeking control of myself.
He stands, blood pouring down his face, hunched over from the kick I just gave him.
“You’re making a big fuckin’ mistake,” he hisses. “Even if you get away with this, I’ll come back for you. I’ll hunt you down.”
“Take one more step and I’ll shoot,” I gasp out. “I swear to god.”
“You don’t put that gun down, and I’ll shoot.”
I hear Chastity’s voice behind me, and my whole body goes weak. No.
No.
My hands shake and I feel like I’m going to black out from the pain. I can’t think, let alone work out what to do right now. I have a gun on him, and she has a gun on me.
If I put this gun down. We’re done for.
It’s all over.
“You take another step, Chastity,” I growl, “I’ll shoot him. I have no problem doing so.”
“Put it down, Lucy,” she orders.
“No,” I whisper, risking everything right now. “If you’re going to shoot me, then do it, but I’m not putting this gun down. I won’t do it.”
I don’
t know how much more I can take.
I feel like I’m going to pass out.
My whole body is wound up that tightly I can’t breathe.
I could die here. Die and leave Tommy alone.
I can’t have that. I won’t have that.
No.
I’ll hold this gun until the last breath leaves my body if I have to, but I will not put it down.
No matter the cost.
“You drop that fuckin’ gun or so help me god I’ll end you right here, right fuckin’ now.”
Nicolai.
Tears burst forth, but I don’t move. I don’t turn. I don’t take my eyes off the man standing in front of me.
“I’ll shoot her, Pierre,” Chastity yells. “I will kill her right here in front of you.”
“No the fuck you won’t.”
Lincoln.
They’re here.
Oh, thank god.
Thank you god.
I hear a noise, a sound, something hard hitting the floor, and then a warm hand on my shoulder. I flinch and whimper, but the hand curls tightly, letting me know it’s okay. “Put the gun down, baby. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Lincoln goes past me so quickly I nearly miss him, and with one hard fist, takes the man standing in front of me down so hard he hits the ground out cold. Nicolai’s hand slides up my arm, and slowly lowers it, and Lincoln turns, taking the gun from it. “Fuck me, darlin’,” he growls. “What did he do to you?”
“Tommy?” Shania’s shrill voice cries, and I hear her frantically moving around my house. “Tommy? Where’s my son?”
“He’s,” I choke out, in absolute agony, “he’s in the car. I told, I told him to go and hide when they weren’t looking, and then I told them he had gone next door. He’s in the car.”
Shania runs past me and into my garage. A moment later she comes out with Tommy cradled in her arms, nuzzling him tightly. He cheers on about winning the game, and I turn away from him, not wanting to let him see my bloody face. Shania rushes past me and out the front door, clearly wanting him to be away from all of this. Nicolai watches them go, and then turns to me, cupping my face in his hands. “You protected him.”
“Nothing was going to happen to that boy,” I whisper. “Not unless I was dead. I didn’t want him to witness any of it. But I was so scared,” I croak, and then the tears flow harder down my face. “So scared, Nicolai.”
He leans in, scooping me up and into his arms. “I fucking love you, Lucy.”
God dammit.
I cry harder as he takes me out and loads me into the car.
Lincoln assures him they’ll take care of things here and that they’re calling the police.
Nicolai nods and tells them he’s going to the hospital with me but they can call him for a statement.
Then he looks to Chastity, who Finn is still holding, even though she’s trying to squirm away.
“Ever come near my family again, I’ll fucking kill you. Do not doubt it. There are no chances after this one. Sign the papers. Divorce me. Stay the fuck out of my life.”
Then he gets in the car.
And my whole world goes black.
19
NOW – LUCY
“Can you tell us exactly how she got into your apartment and what happened after that?”
I stare over at the police officer questioning me. She said her name is Amanda. I’m lying in a hospital bed, still shaken up, Nicolai, Damon and Erin all in here with me, because they refuse to leave. None of them believe I’m okay. They think I’m going to breakdown any second after that ordeal. But I’m stone-faced. What is there to go over? It happened. It’s finished. Tommy is okay.
“I met her about a week ago,” I say to Amanda, shifting in the bed. My body is aching, I’m not entirely sure why since he hit me in the face. “She said she was my neighbor, I believed her. Why wouldn’t I? She knocked on my door around five, saying she was heading out soon and asked if I wanted to have a drink. I was babysitting my nephew, so I said no.”
“What happened after that?” Amanda says, pushing her recorder closer to me.
Here I was thinking cops still wrote shit down. Nope, technology is the way of the world now.
“She was just staring at Tommy, it was creeping me out. I don’t know what it was, but just felt uneasy. To be honest, I felt uneasy the moment I met her. There was something not quite right. Anyway, she was watching Tommy, and she made a comment about how much he looked like his father.”
I glance at Nicolai—his fists are clenched, but he’s not saying anything. He’s not going to interrupt; he wants to hear every detail.
“What happened after that?” Amanda says, then kindly adds, “Take your time.”
“I started getting confused. I asked her what she was talking about, and it all kind of came out. It was like she just stopped caring if I knew or not. She saw an opportunity and she took it.”
“She told you outright who she was?” Amanda questions.
“Yes, she did. She also told me what she wanted to do. She wanted to use Tommy to get Nicolai to sign the papers. She never thought she’d get close to Tommy, so her original plan was to use me. She thought it was her lucky break getting a two for one.”
“Fuckin’ bitch,” Damon mutters.
Nicolai glances at him and nods.
Erin shakes her head and then clenches those tiny fists.
“Continue when you’re ready,” Amanda says, giving Damon the stink eye for interrupting her statement.
He doesn’t seem to care.
“She pulled a gun out and had us sit down. I wasn’t risking Tommy, not at all, so I didn’t try and fight her off. She then called her boyfriend, who arrived not long after. They were plotting some big plan to take Tommy. I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t think, it was two against one, and both of them had guns.”
“So they were both armed?”
I nod.
“What happened after that? How did Tommy get into the car?”
“I told him,” I say, suddenly feeling a little shaky at the memory of everything that happened next, “I told him to go and play hide and seek. I didn’t have any other options and I was so afraid.”
My voice cracks, but I close my eyes and try to get it together. When I open them, Nicolai is standing beside me, so much love in his eyes it hurts.
“Take your time,” Amanda says calmly, gently.
“We had played earlier in the day,” I tell her, “and he hid in my car. It took me forever to find him. Chastity had gone to get some clothes, they were going to go through with their plan, no matter what. She must have called the guy, I don’t even know his name still, and he turned his back to talk to her on the phone. I knew that was the only chance I had. I told Tommy to go and hide in the car again and to not make any noise, especially if those people called out for him. That we had to win the game. If we did, then I’d buy him his favorite truck at the store.”
A tear bursts forth and rolls down my cheek, and my body starts trembling.
I keep going.
“He ran off, and I heard my car door close. The man didn’t. When he turned around, Tommy was gone. He lost his mind, demanding to know where he went. I told him that I’d told Tommy to go to my neighbor’s house, that he knew her well, and told them to call the police. He freaked out and charged down the hallway. That’s when I picked up the lamp and hit him across the head with it. It was the only thing I could find.”
I make a sobbing sound and press my hands to my face. Nicolai is there in seconds, grabbing me close, making me feel better even though I’m losing my shit right now. I guess this is what they all were waiting around for—they knew I wasn’t okay, even if I thought I was.
“You’re so fuckin’ brave. You’re so fuckin’ incredible. You saved my son. You saved him.”
Nicolai’s words make me cry harder.
He holds me so damned tight I almost can’t breathe, which makes me forget about my aching heart for a moment.
; After a few minutes, I pull away and wipe the tears with a clenched fist.
“That’s when we got into a fight,” I tell Amanda. “He hit me and I somehow managed to get him off and get hold of his gun. That’s when Nicolai and everyone came in.”
Amanda nods. “Is there anything else you can think of? Anything that might help us press even more charges against them?”
I shake my head. “No, that was it. All I know is she was determined to get Nicolai’s club, money, and anything else she could.”
“Thank you,” Amanda says. “I’m incredibly sorry about your ordeal, if there is anything we can do, or anything you remember, please let me know. Otherwise we’ll be in contact soon.”
I nod, and Nicolai thanks her as she’s leaving. When she’s gone, I’m left alone with the three people I trust the absolute most, and yet all I want to do is be alone. I want to break alone. I want to cry alone. I want to suffer alone.
I don’t know why.
I just … I just need to be alone.
“Listen,” I say to them, my voice husky from the crying, “I’m really tired, I was wondering if you’d all mind if I had a sleep.”
Erin comes over, wrapping her arms around me. I literally have to bite my lip to stop the tears exploding forth. “You’re so brave. I’m so glad you’re okay. Call me when you’re feeling better.”
I nod and watch her leave, then turn to Damon who also gives me a hug. He holds me a little tighter, and for a little longer, and I can’t stop the tear that escapes. When he pulls back, he looks down at me and his expression changes. He knows me well enough now, though, to know that I really need to be alone. He knows. So he doesn’t argue. He nods at me, tells me he’s going to call me later and I better answer, and then Erin and he leave.
When they’re gone, I look to Nicolai.
It’ll take every ounce of strength inside me to keep it together in front of him, but I have to, or he’ll never leave.
It’s not that I don’t want him here, it’s that I just want to process this on my own. I don’t want him to see how scared I was. How weak I felt. How every single second that went by had me terrified that something would happen to Tommy. Mostly, how much he’d hate me if I didn’t protect his son. The very thought of what that would have done to Nicolai and Shania breaks me the most. I nearly failed. It was sheer luck that I managed to get him to safety.