Bent not Broken (284 page)

“Marcus isn’t here, but when he arrives, I’ll make sure to tell him you’re looking for him. Goodbye.” Pulling Romeo into the house, I quickly walked in. Lou stopped the door with his foot, pushing his way in and shut the door behind him.

My heart began to race. What’s he doing here? Will Marcus be upset that he’s in the house? Has he ever been in this house? “I think I’ll stand here and wait for him. He needs to clear up the mess his
idiot
cousin made. I’m sure he wouldn’t miss any of your calls. If you call him, maybe I could be out of your hair sooner.”

Ignoring him, I walked over to Romeo, placing my hand on his face. He flinched in pain. “What did you get yourself into?” I whispered. Romeo couldn’t look at me; he was too ashamed. He clearly was not going to answer me. I had no choice but to call Marcus. Glaring at Lou, I wanted to smack the smart-ass grin off his face. Walking over to my purse, I grabbed my phone and made the call.

After one ring he picked up. “Hey, babe.” It sounded like he was in the car. I could hear wind blowing and other vehicles driving by.

“Marcus?” I failed desperately to hide the shakiness in my voice.

Knowing me very well, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the best way to explain this. I walked over to the corner where no one could hear my conversation. “Romeo is here. He’s badly beaten, and Lou is with him. Lou won’t leave until he speaks with you.”

There were a few seconds of silence before he yelled, “What the fuck!” A few thumping noises along with the horn sounding off rang my ears. I knew my man well enough to know that he’d just punched the steering a few times, upset. Taking a deep breath, he was silent for a moment before responding again. “Put Lou on the phone.”

Hesitating for a second, I intently stared at Lou. He was seated on a chair in the living room, facing me. His legs were crossed, his elbow was on the armrest with a closed fist underneath his chin, and still he had that stupid amused grin. Clearing my throat, I spoke. “He’s on the phone.” He stretched out the hand that was lying on his lap.

I flashed a cocky look and smacked my hand to my hip. I further extended my arm with the cell phone. I was not one of his employees. He could very well walk his ass over and grab the phone. When I tapped my foot, he laughed once, shook his head, and stood from his seat. Striding over, he took the phone from my hand and placed it to his ear, not taking his eyes off of me the entire time.

“Marky.” He grinned. Taking a few steps back, I watched him closely. He was only a few inches taller than me. He had a medium build, thick salt-and-pepper hair that was neatly brushed back, and light brown eyes that narrowed as he listened attentively over the phone. If I didn’t hate him so much, I might’ve thought he was a good-looking man. Then I thought of all the pain Marcus and I had gone through because of him. I only saw him as an evil, malicious, disgusting man.

Speaking in a low, raspy tone, his eyes grew darker as he continued to ogle me. “What can I say? He came to me asking for work …
no
… he screwed up …
big
time … sixty … yeah, sixty.” Slowly he began to walk towards me, his eager eyes staring into mine.

For every step forward he made, I took one step back, until my back pressed against the staircase. My breathing sped up when he was only inches away from me. “Your woman’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” He slightly pulled the phone away from his ear and cringed. I could hear Marcus’ loud tone throughout the phone but couldn’t make out what was said.

Lou laughed and fixed his gaze back on me. His hand slowly moved from his ear over to the side of my face. Because I was frozen, he pressed the phone along my ear with the tip of his fingers sliding across my cheek. His touch shot shivers through my spine and caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. He frightened me, but I made sure not to show it. Pushing his hand away, I grabbed the phone. He took a few steps back.

In a raspy, dry manner, I managed to say, “Hello.”

“Baby, I need you to do me a favor. Are you near my office?” Marcus’ desperate tone forced me to be alert.

“Yes,” I said, watching Lou as he cocked his head to the side, folding his arms on his chest. His stares were giving me the creeps. Swallowing, I focused back on Marcus.

“Okay, I want you to walk into my office and lock the door behind you.”

“What?” I asked confused.

“Just do it. Tell me when you’re in there and the door is locked.”

I looked up at Lou. He was in the same position. I fixed my gaze towards Romeo. He was sitting by the couch, watching Lou. Was Marcus trying to keep me away from them? What about Romeo, shouldn’t I lock him in the office with me? Confused by this sudden request, I wasn’t sure what I should do. “Mia, are you in the office yet?” Marcus’ impatient tone hurried my legs to his office, and I shut the door behind me. Locking the bolt, I turned the knob to make sure it was secure. “Okay, I’m in here. The door’s locked. What now?” I asked.

“Good, at my desk by the top right-hand drawer, you’ll find a key. Let me know when you find it…what the fuck…you cock-sucker, move out the fucking way!” Road rage—he was trying to rush home. I glanced at the clock by his desk. It was rush hour. There was no way he’d be here anytime soon.

After I took a seat in the office chair, I reached for the top right-hand drawer. There were several files, no keys. Rummaging through, I tried to see if the keys were in between the files. I was alarmed when I noticed one particular folder. On the tab written in all caps were the words M. SULLIVAN. Why was there a file with my name in his desk? I lifted the file to have a closer look. That was when I noticed the key. Marcus interrupted my curiosity, “Mia, did you find the key?” Biting my lip, I wasn’t sure what to do. Romeo was out there with Lou, and if I didn’t hurry, he could harm him again. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the key and placed the file back. I’d look at it later.

“Yes, I have it.” I said, closing the drawer.

“Okay, beside the bookshelf, you’ll see the large-framed mirror. Underneath the frame, you’ll have to feel for a small keyhole to place the key in. Unlock the mirror and open it. Behind it will be a vault.”

What the hell? As many times I’ve been in this office and stared into that mirror, never once did I expect it to be a hidden passage to something. The mirror had a vertical gold frame, and it was taller than me. I assumed it was décor; I always admired how beautiful and luxurious it looked.

Kneeling before my reflection, I held the phone between my shoulder and ear. Feeling underneath the curvy detailed frame, I managed to locate a small keyhole. I dug the key in and turned it. A small clicking noise told me the mirror was loosened. Standing up, I pulled the mirror open like a door. Behind it was an all-black steel door with a keypad in the middle. “It’s open,” I whispered, imagining what could possibly be behind this door.

“Good, now you have to do this correctly, or the entire system will lock for twenty-four hours.” He waited for my okay and continued, “On the keypad press the following code: pound-two-four-four-seven-pound. Once you hear the door unlock, open it and enter immediately. Don’t be alarmed. The door will shut behind you. Let me know when you’re in.”

This was ridiculous; he should be here to do this. What if I get stuck in there? I didn’t want to screw this up, and he trusted me with all of this. I sucked it up and took a deep breath. Doing as I was told, I punched the code into the pad and entered as soon as it unlocked. As he said, the door closed behind me. I was standing in a small, lit, narrow space with another door in front of me. I told him I was in and waited for the next instructions.

“You’re doing good, baby. Just a few more steps and you’ll be done. Now this entry is similar, though the code is different: pound-two-two-zero-four-pound.”

I did as I was told, and the door opened. Hurrying through, I almost dropped the phone. When I looked up, I was shocked. It felt like I’d walked into an eight-by-ten, advanced storage unit. On one side of the wall, there were shelves filled with all types of guns: small, large, AK-47’s, many different calibers. If you could think of a type, it was there. On the other side of the wall were neatly stacked bricks of money. Not just a few bills, no, there were rolls and columns of one-hundred-dollar bills wrapped in Saran Wrap. If my jaw weren’t attached to my face, it would have fallen to the ground. I’d never had been around this much money. I knew Marcus was financially successful, though my mind steered more toward only a fraction of what was in this vault.

“Okay, Mia, now that you’re in, I need you to walk over to the money stacked along the right side of the wall. On the metal table in the center of the room, you’ll find a few black bags. Each small stack is worth ten grand. I need you to take six of those stacks and place them into a bag and hand it to Lou.”

The “small” stacks were placed into two fabric bags. After exiting the vault and making sure it was securely closed as per Marcus’ instructions, I placed the key back in the drawer. Marcus said he’d be home in twenty minutes. We hung up, and I was left in the room holding two heavy medium-sized bags worth sixty-thousand dollars. Taking a few deep breaths to calm my nerves, I stormed out of the office.

Romeo was nowhere in sight. Lou was sitting on the couch, and beside him was Elle, holding up her handheld game, showing her score. Lou had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. The image of him touching her disgusted me. “Elle, go to your room.” Both of them snapped their heads in my direction. Elle first smiled, but it instantly faded when she saw the irate expression I had.

“But I’m showing Uncle Lou my game,” she whined.

“Go to your room now!” I pointed to the staircase with a black velvet bag in my hand. She flinched at my tone, and her lip began to tremble.
Great
, I’m becoming Marcus. I took a deep breath and tried in a calm manner to explain myself. “Please, Elle, go to your room. I need to talk to Lou…
privately
.” He nodded at her, giving her the okay. Very quickly she ran past me and up the stairs, holding back her tears. I felt terrible. I didn’t mean to snap at her. Shifting my anger back on the person it was meant for, I stomped over to him and tossed the bags on the couch where Elle just vacated. “You have what you want. You can leave now.”

The smart smirk slowly turned into stern, thin lips, and his jaw tightened. Very slowly, he flexed his neck side-to-side, and a loud crack sounded. Standing up, his shoulder bumped into mine. Adjusting his suit jacket, he turned and lowered his head. His lips were inches from the side of my face, and he growled in a low, raspy, stern tone, “You know at first your little attitude was cute, but don’t
fucking
think for one second that I will tolerate it.” Turning, he grabbed the bags, and walked towards the door. Before leaving he yelled out, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mia. We should do lunch.” The door slammed behind him.

When all the air released from my lungs, I collapsed into the sofa, burying my face into my hands. The entire experience had been terrible. I just wanted to be locked in Marcus’ arms. What happened with Romeo? Why did he owe so much money?
Aarrrgh!
I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. At the sound of the door creaking, I snapped my head up in its direction. Romeo was standing a few feet away with a frozen steak to his eye. I glared at him, and he looked down mortified. “You, in the kitchen, now.” I flew past him and headed to the kitchen. He followed, and I directed him to sit by the table.

Elle had had a few scratches and dents, so I knew the first aid kit was kept inside the pantry. I placed the open kit on the table, and he looked at me with his light brown eyes. Except for the eyes, he bore a striking resemblance to Marcus: the same olive skin, perfectly thick arched eyebrows, and model-like silky, dark hair. He was definitely gorgeous even with the bruises. Now that I was closer, I was able to see a huge split from the middle of his forehead to the end of his eyebrow. It was about three inches in length and pretty deep. “Romeo, you’re going to need stitches.”

“No, I’m not going to the hospital. Can’t you stitch it together?”

“No! I wouldn’t even know how to. There are butterfly bandages here. I can use them, but if Marcus thinks you need a hospital, you have to go.” He nodded. I began the cleansing process. Before I could even nurse the cuts, I had to clean his face and wipe all the blood, just in case there were any open cuts I missed.

I cleaned all of the blood with a wet cloth and started to nurse the cut on his lips. I needed to steer my mind away from exploding. Not enjoying the silence, I began to question him. “What happened to you, Romeo?”

Shrugging, he hesitated before speaking. I wondered if he thought to tell me the truth. Then when he began, he spoke as if it was like a relief to get it all out. “Marcus warned me not get involved, but I didn’t listen. I figured I could use the extra money before school starts. I did a few runs for Lou. I delivered a few small packages to certain groups, collected the money, and brought it back to Lou. He’d give me a cut. Today, I had to deliver a package to a Russian cartel. They teased me, saying I was too
pretty
to be a runner. I didn’t like it, so I said a few words.” He’s more like Marcus than I thought. Since when does someone teasing you, give you the go-ahead to be cocky?

I brushed the cut on his forehead with an alcohol wipe. He sucked in air and winced. I bit my lip and apologized. Cautiously, I wiped his wound again. This time he pressed his lips together and shut his eyes. “So Lou didn’t do this to you?” I asked, continuing to nurse him.

His eyes shot open. “No, the Russians did. They took the package, and left me on the side of the road. When I was finally conscious, I found my way back to Lou. He said he would take care of the Russians, but the package was worth sixty grand. That’s when we came here.”

“
You
brought him here, Romeo?” I thought Lou brought Romeo here, knowing it was the other way around, upset me even more.

“I had no choice, Mia. He threatened to
kill
me, saying if I didn’t come up with the money, then—” We both jumped when the sound of the front door slamming alerted the room.