Love Lost (8 page)

  Lucio sat on the couch for what seemed like hours.  She finally walked in and screamed when she saw him.  Eddie stood at the doorway when she tried to run away. 

“Where do you think you are going, Mimi?”

Mimi turned around to face him. 

“No-Nowhere.”

The smack came quick and hard, and her head hit the wall with the impact of it.

“I have had enough of your lies.  Get over here.  We need to have a chat.”

He grabbed her by the hair and half dragged her to the couch.  She whimpered at the grip he had on her hair. Blood was coming down the side of her mouth. 

“I met your barista.”

She met his eyes and clasped her hands together. 

“Barista?”  She was seriously playing dumb now.

He punched her hard, and lifted his fist again when she yelled out.

“Ok, I knew him.”  She leaned against the couch in defeat.  He squatted down to meet her gaze and possibly hit her again if she didn’t answer.

“How did you know him?”

“He started coming to the club, asking for me.”

Lucio leaned in closer.

“And, then?”

Mimi remained silent.  Lucio turned to Eddie, and motioned for him to come forward.

“I don’t think she has an incentive to talk, Eddie.  Do we have a way for her to talk?”

Eddie stepped to the side, and a little girl stood there.  She looked about nine years old and her eyes were red from crying.  Mimi screamed at Lucio.

“Sofia, no.  Please, not my daughter.”

“Eddie, take Sofia to my house.  She will be my guest for a few days.  Buy her some toys on the way there.  We want our guest to be happy while her mother gets what I need.” 

Sofia started to cry again as Eddie picked her up and took her out of the apartment.  Mimi stared out the door, and then back at Lucio.

“What do you want?” Her voice
was barely audible.

“I want to know where Selene is.  I want to know what you and her have been discussing behind my back.”

She closed her eyes as the tears fell. 

“We are friends, Lucio.  I thought you wanted me to keep an eye on her for you.”

Lucio grabbed her by the neck and stood up.  He leaned in close.

“You have been doing more than just keeping an eye on her.  You have been talking to the cops.”

She looked at him with a firm stare.  He almost thought she was smiling if it wasn’t for her busted lip and bruising eye.

“She wants to bring you down, and so help me God, she will do it.”

He hit her hard again, and then kicked her in the ribs.  She curled into a ball, a feeble attempt at protecting herself.  He leaned down so she could hear what he had to say.

“You have one week to get me all the information she has.  If not, Sofia will be sold to one of my best customers.  He likes his girls young, and Sofia is perfect for him.”

“NOOOOOOO.”

He got up and reached for his coat. 

“One week, Mimi, or Sofia is gone.”

Selene watched Jason on his run, unable to stop staring.  He took off down the path that ran along the lake.  She eventually turned back toward the bag and grabbed some of her things. There was a bathroom next to her room and a shower sounded tempting right now.  She started the shower and went back for a change of clothes.  Selene sat on the bathroom floor and took a deep breath.  She was drained after everything that had happened in the last few days and the anxiety was starting to kick in. 

Her phone quietly chirped with a voicemail notification and she reached for it.  She pressed the number to access her voicemail and heard Daphne’s father.  He was letting her know that he was in town, and was looking for his daughter.  She quickly dialed the number she knew by heart and he picked up on the first ring.

His pained voice alerted her that he had already gotten the news. 

“Mr. Berkowitz-“

“Selene, are you safe?”

She swallowed hard, and held her breath until she had control of her emotions.

“Yes, I’m with a detective.  Can I help you with anything?  The funeral arrangements?”

“No.  Her mother and I are handling all of that.  The officers told me everything about the shooting, and we need you to be safe, Selene.  While this shooter is still at large, I don’t want to risk losing you, too. I will give you a call once we have settled everything.  Will you be able to come?”

“I’ll be there.  I need to be.”

There was silence then Selene heard soft crying on the other end.  They were grieving for the loss of their daughter.   She whispered her condolences and ended the call before she lost her composure. 

Selene climbed into the shower and slumped against the cold tile. She wanted to cry, or scream, but nothing happened. There was just the silent waterfall coming from the shower head. She was completely numb despite the hot water that prickled her skin.   

She finished her shower and put on a change of clothes.  She grabbed the safe key and put the file along with the USB stick in the safe before locking it.  She pulled her hair in a ponytail and grabbed a light jacket to head outside.  She needed to go for a run to blow off some stress and apologize to Jason.  Her trust issues were not his fault and she needed to give him a chance to show her he was trustworthy.  He was doing a good job of it
, too, if she didn’t push him away like she had a history of doing with everyone.

Selene took a deep breath as she left the room.  She walked down the stairs, wondering how to apologize to Jason. As she walked past the kitchen she was pulled out of her thoughts by Maribel.

“Hello, Selene.”

Selene stopped when she saw Jason’s mom chopping some vegetables on a cutting board on the counter.  She had an apron on and was humming a tune.  She smiled at her and pointed to a bar stool near the counter.

“Join me.”

Selene glanced outside before she walked toward the bar stool. As she sat down, she couldn’t help but be enthralled by Maribel.  She reminded Selene of her own mother.  Her mom had always sung while she cooked, sometimes even danced.  She’d always remind Selene that your food reflected your mood.  If you were in a good mood, your food was always delicious. Selene wiped away a tear before Maribel could notice. 

“How are you feeling, Selene?”

“I’m fine.”

Maribel stopped chopping the vegetables and looked up at her. 

“It’s better to talk about things than to bottle them in.”

She avoided her gaze and Maribel continued chopping.

“It’s complicated.”

Maribel laughed.  “I know what complicated is.  I have three boys and a husband. They have jobs that are not always the safest, where a mother is concerned.  Things are only complicated if you allow them to be.”

Selene looked at Maribel and a genuine look of concern was etched on her face.  She felt a lump in her throat at how caring this woman was
toward her even though they only just met.  Selene rose from her seat.

“Can I help you with anything?”

Maribel smiled.

“Sure.  I am making Magra con Tomate. Are you familiar with it
?”

“No, but I learn quickly.”

Selene started to chop the rest of the peppers and tomatoes for the Spanish stew. Her mind drifted to Maribel’s words.  She was planning on telling Jason about Lucio.  If she wanted to bring Lucio down, she needed to tell Jason the truth. 

Jason came back from his run to find Selene in the kitchen with his mother.  She was smiling and laughing at something his mother was telling her.  Jason leaned on the door frame, watching the two of them interact.  He loved seeing Selene happy, even more so that his mother was the one making her laugh.  A slap on his shoulder interrupted his spying.

“It’s rude to listen to someone else’s conversations.”

His father peered in and tapped on the glass.  His mother looked up and his father blew her a kiss.  Selene blushed at their intimate interaction and her gaze went to Jason as he opened the door for his father and he followed. 

“Dad, this is Selene.”

His father shook her hand and as Selene looked back at him to say something, Jason spoke up.

“I am going to hop in the shower.  I will be back down for dinner.”

Jason took the stairs two at a time and started to remove his clothes quickly.  When he finished his shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door to find Selene sitting on his bed. 

“Everything ok?”

She nodded yes.

“I just wanted to apologize for before.  I want to talk to you about something.”

He was aware of her eyes as they drifted over his wet and very naked body, his towel dangerously low on his hips. 

“I should let you get dressed.”

She got up from the bed and he caught her arm.

“Talk to me, Selene.”

She started to back away to give him some space, but he closed the distance fast.  She was pinned between a door and an almost naked Jason. 

“It’s hard to talk like this, Jay.”

He leaned in and grazed his lips along her neck.  He pulled her jacket off and threw it on the bed.  Tilting her chin up, he kissed her.  It was not a light kiss.  It was desperate, like he needed her kiss more than air itself.  She kissed him back and he pushed himself against her.  She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her. 

“Jason…”

He reached up under her shirt and cupped her breasts, teasing her as she arched her hips to rub against him.  He found her mouth again and they found a rhythm against the door.  She grabbed his ass and pushed him harder against her as they picked up the pace.  As Jason reached for her pants, a knock on the door stopped him.

“Jason, Vin is looking for you.”

Jason leaned his forehead against Selene’s, who was trying not to laugh at the situation.

“I’ll be right out, Jesse.  I’m just getting dressed.” 

Jason waited as he heard footsteps leading away from the door and down the stairs.  He looked down at Selene and they both laughed.  He set her down and she adjusted her shirt.  He pulled her back in his arms.

“We
will
finish this talk.”

She swatted his arm.

“I want to talk to you with actual words.”

He smirked and let her go so he could get dressed.  He grabbed some pants and went back into the bathroom.  He came out to find the door open and Selene was standing in the hallway with her phone to her ear.  He grabbed a shirt and threw it on as he walked closer to the door. 

“I can’t meet with you right now.  I’m not home.”  She paused before she continued.  “I get back on Sunday night so I can meet you on Monday.  Is everything ok?”  Another pause.  “I can’t leave right now.  What’s wrong?  Hello?”

He walked back and sat on his bed.  She came back into the room as he was putting on his socks and boots. 

“Everything ok?”  He waited for her to respond. 

“You know that case I’m working on
?”

He nodded his answer.

“Well, my contact just called me and she was in a hurry to meet with me.  She wanted to know where I was.”

He walked
toward her.

“You didn’t tell her where you were, did you?”

“No.  Of course, I didn’t.  I just...”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Jason, this is not like her.  I think something is wrong.”

Before Jason could speak, Vin walked into the room.

“Dinner’s ready.”

“Ok.  Give me a minute, Vin.”

Vin left and Selene walked toward the door.

“Let’s go eat and we can talk about this later.  I could just be paranoid with everything that has happened.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed it lightly.

“You sure?”

She nodded yes and they both headed downstairs.

During dinner,
Selene discovered that Jesse had just graduated from the police academy and Julian was a lawyer. Once the food was served, it turned into a pure comedy show.  Selene had never laughed so hard in her life.  Since she was the guest of honor, they all felt the need to share Jason’s most embarrassing moments if she agreed to answer a question for every story.  Jason pleaded with them that if they went that route, there would be payback.  His pleas went unheard because the stories and questions commenced.  Her ribs hurt from all the laughing.  As Jason’s brothers helped their mother clear the table, Jason leaned over to Selene and whispered in her ear.

“Wanna go for a walk?”

“Definitely.”

They left the table after excusing themselves and walked down the path by the lake after Jason grabbed his jacket and a blanket.

“I hope my family doesn’t scare you too much.  They like to welcome everyone with open arms like long lost family members.”

“It takes a lot more than that to scare me. Your parents have been so sweet to me, and your brothers are very informative with their stories about you.”

Jason laughed 

“I have no idea what they were talking about.  I don’t remember any of it.”

“I’m sure you don’t.  Do you come see them a lot?”