Overflow: The Carpino Series (10 page)

“Of guns, Gabby.  Massive amounts of them,” he explains. 
“His network is wide and varied.  He sells guns and high powered ammo to cartel
members in Mexico and Central America.  Omaha is centrally located in the
middle of the country.  It’s no coincidence this is his home base.  He’s not
from here, but he chose a wife who was as cover. He’s from Michigan.  We’ve
been working this case with the ATF for months now.  We didn’t know he was into
guns to begin with, his communication with cartels gave him away and that’s how
we found out about his gun smuggling operation. Now it’s a combined operation
with both agencies.”

I’m standing with my mouth hanging open, not because Jude
just verified that Trevor is an even bigger jackwagon than I thought, but
because my friend Megan, as high drama as she is, is being used for cover.  His
wife who loves him and has given him three children is just a pawn to him in a
game of underworld gun distribution.  I look up at Jude and breathe, “Megan?”

He can tell I’m sideswiped.  His face gets soft, he dips his
head close to mine and looking right into my eyes, says, “You cannot talk to
her right now, Gabby.  It’s important for your own safety, you cannot get in
the middle of this.  I’ve known you for five whole days, sugar, and last night
you told me that even though it’s only been five days, what’s happening here
means something to you.  Well, I’m telling you it means something to me too, so
I’m trusting you with this information.  I need to trust that you will do what
I say to keep yourself safe.  I don’t want anything to happen to you, so please
help me out here and do as I say until I can prove that you’re safe.  Can you
do that for me, Gabby?”

All I can do is stare up at him.  I mean, I was drunk last
night, but not incoherent.  I know I said things to Jude that I would not
otherwise have said had I not been loose lipped and drunk, but every word I let
loose was true.  I remember everything and meant absolutely every word.  I like
him, a lot.  I like him here with me, in my house and with my family.  It’s
only been five days, really just four and a half if you want to get technical,
but everything that has happened in that time has been weighty and meaningful. 
I remember not wanting him to leave me last night to sleep on my sofa again, I
remember wanting to be close to him and him giving that to me but not taking
advantage of it.  But most of all, even though the last four and a half days
have been crazy, emotional and tiring, I haven’t felt the loneliness I’ve been
overflowing with for the past three years and eight months.  Before last
Friday, I’ve felt alone with nothing to hold tight, grasping at things that
make me happy for a while, but nothing that brings me happiness.  I’ve prayed
about it and God’s given me a peace in my heart that I will see my parents
again someday, but on this Earth, I don’t have anything to embrace that
matters.  But for the last four and a half days, I haven’t felt the overflow of
loneliness.  It’s different, it’s still new and it scares the hell out of me. 
I don’t know if I can trust it because I don’t want to get used to it if it’s
going to be taken away.   If I hold on tight to something again and it’s ripped
away, it might undue me. 

I pull in a breath as Jude gives me a little squeeze to get
my attention and as if he’s reading my thoughts, he says, “You can trust me,
sugar.  Please, please let me trust you, too.”

“Okay,” I barely whisper. 

“Thank you,” he says as he pulls me in for a soft kiss. 
Leaning back to look at me again, he says, “Can you scale back your shopping
today?   The thought of you in and out of places all day makes me crazy.”

I sigh.  “Okay.  But can I at least go to Gloria’s?  It’s a
frame shop, I have prints I need to have framed for a client and if I wait any
longer it will hold up my project.  One store can’t make you that crazy,
right?  I’ll text you again, I promise.”

He sighs and says, “Fine.  One store, but come straight
home,” he instructs, back to Bossy Jude.  

I smile big and say, “Thank you!  And, um, will you be back
here tonight?”

“Yeah, babe.  You shouldn’t be by yourself and I want to be
here tonight if that’s okay with you.”

I try to ignore how happy that makes me so I change the
subject and say, “I’ll make dinner.”

“No.  I’m taking you to dinner tonight.  Be ready to go by
six thirty.”

“Jude, you don’t need to take me to dinner, I don’t mind
cooking.”

“Babe.  No offense, because I’ve had three of your salads
now, and don’t get me wrong, they’re great salads.  But I think I might become
anemic if I don’t eat some meat soon,” he says with a grin. 

“I did put chicken on the taco salad, are you forgetting
that?”

“Gabby.  You’re cute.  But I’m still taking you to dinner
tonight.  Nothing fancy but we’ll make sure you can get a salad, okay?” he says
sarcastically.

Feeling a little defensive, at the same happy that he finds
me cute, I bite out, “I do eat things besides salads, Jude.”

“Oh yeah?  What did you have last night with your girls?”

I clamp my jaw shut and glare up and him.  He throws his
head back and laughs out loud while pulling me tight to him.  I hold my glare
as best I can because listening to his deep raspy voice laughing is super nice
and a little distracting.  He looks down at me still laughing and I say, “Stop
it, Jude!  So I had a salad, but it had grilled salmon smothered in pesto, it’s
my favorite dish there!”  He continues to chuckle as he pulls me up for a
kiss. 

“I believe you sugar,” he replies through a chuckle.

“Whatever.  Don’t you have somewhere to be and a bad guy to
catch so I can roam free and shop at will again?”

“Yeah,” he says.  “I don’t want to inhibit your shopping any
more than necessary, Gabby.  And don’t answer the phone if Megan tries to call
you again.  Keep the alarm on and look out the window if someone comes to your
door.  And by the way, how well do you know how to use your gun?”

“Good heavens, you are bossy!  I have my Conceal and Carry,
remember?  I passed the class!”

“That’s an easy class, really how much have you worked with
a gun, now I’m just curious.”

I sigh again, “My family is full of hunters, Jude.  I grew
up around guns and was taught to respect them.  When we were old enough my dad
and uncles would take us kids shooting, although I didn’t shoot a handgun until
I was an adult.  Lanny and Sophia own about 90 acres in southeast Nebraska with
a little house on it and they use the land to hunt on.  That’s when I learned
how to shoot a handgun. I’m not a bad shot.”

“Good.  Keep your gun close, you never know,” he leans down
to kiss me.  “I’ll call you later and check in.  Be good.”

He lets me go, I turn to let Mia in and follow him to the
garage door so I can set the alarm after he grabs a coffee to go.  “Bye, Jude,”
I call. 

He turns to wink at me with a grin.  I lock myself in, set
the alarm and head to the shower.  I need to get my day started and I really
need coffee.  Mia follows me and I throw my winter robe on the floor for her to
sleep on while I get ready.  She curls up for her morning nap and I set about
my day not thinking about what I need to get done, but about how that
overflowing feeling is starting to come over me again, but this time it’s
filled with something other than loneliness.  Enjoying this new feeling, I step
into my shower smiling.

*****

“Thanks! I appreciate your patience, they’re just what my
client wanted!  The grass cloth matting has great texture and will really make
a difference,” I say to the sales associate at Gloria’s Custom Framing.

“No problem, Gabby.  You’re always fun to work with, thanks
for coming back in!  They should be ready in three to four weeks since we have
to order the matting.  We’ll give you a ring!”

I move to the door looking over my shoulder and turn to give
her a wave, saying, “Thanks again!  I’ll wait to hear from you!”  I turn to the
right on the sidewalk toward my car and pull my cell from my back pocket to
text Jude that I’m on my way home.  He’s called me once to check on me, giving
me the bad news that they have not found Trevor.  He’s proving to be difficult
or resourceful, whichever side you’re on.  Jude said the other side of his case
is ramping up so he would be a bit later, making it closer to seven for
dinner. 

Pressing send on my text to Jude, I look up as I near my
Tahoe.  That’s when I feel a hand from behind me, a grip so hard on my left
bicep I wince from the pain.  I am yanked to the right into a hard body.  I
look over and I let out a small surprised scream.  He’s got an arm around me
from the back and this vice grip is totally different than Jude’s, causing
searing pain to shoot through my arm.

“Shut the fuck up, Gabby!” he bites out.

The pain in my arm is so overwhelming, I find myself at a
total loss and I barely whisper, “Trevor?” 

He starts moving me fast, turning me down the side of the
building and before I know it we are behind the storefront area of the outdoor
shopping center of Rockbrook Village, but more importantly, away from
shoppers.  He whips me around, shoving me up against the brick wall with so
much force that my head flings back hitting the wall with a thud, pain shooting
through my head and neck.  Trevor puts a hand to my chest to keep me where I
am.  I can scarcely whisper out, “Please, Trevor.  Stop!”

“What the fuck, Gabby?  Since when did you hook up with a
cop, huh?  You hold out on every man who might want a piece of your sweet ass
for years, won’t talk to anyone, like you’re too fucking good for the general
population, but you choose a cop?  Now?  Why is that?  Answer me!” he screams,
his face mere inches from mine. 

Barely finding my voice, scared out of my mind, I whisper,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With that, he pulls his arm up, back and with what feels
like full force backhands me across the face so hard I fall to the side,
landing hard on my hands and knees.  “Don’t lie to me, Gabby!” he continues to
yell venomously.  “Just this morning some FBI Agent told Megan to quit calling
you.  I’ve seen him coming and going from your house.  Are you informing on me
Gabby?  What the fuck do you know?”

I can barely lift my hand to touch my temple where he hit me
and cower.  I don’t utter a word.  I dropped my phone along the way and my
purse is about three feet away from me on the ground with my gun in it. 
There’s no way he’s going to let me reach for it so I decide talking is my best
bet.  “I don’t know anything about you, Trevor.  You know I love Megan.  I
would never do anything to hurt either of you or your kids.” I could feel the
tears start to well up in my eyes from the pain and fear combined.  Tears that
I haven’t shed in so long.   Months after my parents died I felt like I was
cried out, dried up, nothing left in me.  But now I feel them coming with a
vengeance and there is nothing I can do to stop them. 

Still on my knees, balancing on one hand, Trevor kneels down
to me, his face so close I can feel his breath on my face and he spews in a
quiet, menacing voice, “You better not have, you fucking bitch.  If I find out
you had anything to do with what went down at my house last week, I will come
after you Gabby and this is nothing compared to what I will do to you, but I’ll
fucking play with you first.  We’ll see how sweet you are, but trust me you
won’t enjoy it one fucking bit, do you hear me?  You’ve got that coming to you
for being such a cold bitch for all these years.”  With that he stands up and I
feel a powerful kick to my torso, my body hurled to the side with the force of
his boot.  I close my eyes and feel the pain shoot through me instantly like
lightening.  With that, he is gone and I don’t have enough energy to see which
way he went.  I lay here for a few minutes silently crying then try to get up
but my middle hurts so badly I can hardly move.  Finally, I manage to pull
myself up to a sitting position when I hear a noise and a door slam.  Scrambling
as fast as I can to put my back to the wall thinking Trevor has come back, I
wince from the pain in my head, face and I think my ribs.  A younger kid comes
around the dumpster wearing all black with a white apron carrying a huge bag of
trash. 

He takes one look at me, drops the trash and rushes to me. 
I don’t know why, but I cringe trying to move away, but grimace from the pain
it causes and let out a sob. 

“It’s okay,” he whispers, stops and holds his palms out to
me showing me he’s not going to hurt me.  “Don’t move, I’m going to call for
help, okay?”  He pulls a cell out of his back pocket and starts to dial. 

I close my eyes, concentrate to find a place on my body that
doesn’t hurt as I listen to the young kid talk on the phone describing the mess
in front of him.  Then I try to remember back to just this morning when I
didn’t feel alone, thinking that was really short lived as the tears I dread so
much start to flow freely for the first time in years.

“If you don’t calm the fuck down, Ortiz, I’m not letting you
walk into that hospital.  I’ll hold you down myself, boy, you understand me?”
Mac says, driving too fast through the city streets.  He insisted on bringing
me, like I couldn’t fucking get to her on my own and I could have done it a
hell of a lot faster.  “She does not need to see you like this, do you
understand me?  Get your shit together.”

“I’ve got a handle on it, would you just get me there?” I
bite out.  I got a call fifteen minutes ago from Tony, letting me know Gabby
has been transported to Lakeside Hospital.  He got a call from the police and
was on his way so he hasn’t seen her yet.  All the police told him is that she
had been worked over, she was in bad shape and had been taken by ambulance. 
When I hung up the phone from Tony I lost it.  Not knowing what had happened to
her, thinking of the possibilities of what could have happened to her made me
lose my mind.  I threw my chair across the office and put my foot through a
wall.  It took three guys to hold me down.  Mac called his close contact at the
PD and they haven’t gotten her statement yet because EMS needed to transport
her right away, which cannot be good.  The only thing that made me get it
together is that Mac did find out that none of her clothing had been ripped,
torn or removed from what the first responding officers could see. 

I didn’t do enough.  I knew she had been threatened on the
wiretap, her house had been broken into and I still let her talk me into going
out this afternoon by herself.  One fucking store.  Damn it!  It had to be
Harper or one of his henchmen and it’s been five days and we don’t have them
behind bars yet. 

We finally get to the hospital and Mac pulls up into a no
parking lane next to the ER entrance.  Some security guy is standing there,
walks up to us as I get out and run to the doors.  I hear Mac tell him who we
are and badge him, but I don’t look back.  I turn, get to the waiting room and
I see Tony, his dad and Gino standing there in suits. 

“Where is she?” I demand.

“She’s in CT, we haven’t seen her yet,” said Gino.  The
three of them look like what I feel, a wreck of worry and rage. 

I turn and look to the attendant at the counter, pull out my
credentials and move that way, “I need to speak the EMS team that brought in
Gabrielle Carpino.  Now.  Where can I find them?” 

She looks at my badge, then me and says, “Through those
doors, I’ll buzz you in.  They should be repacking their equipment.” 

I look back at Gabby’s family and say, “I’ll see what I can
find out.”  Giving me head lifts, I turn to the doors and the attendant buzzes
me through to the ER.  Looking to the left, I see a pair of EMS packing up
their gurney and bags. 

Showing my badge again, I say, “Did you bring in Gabrielle
Carpino?  Young woman, thin, about five seven, blonde?”

The tall guy says, “Yeah.  She was beat up pretty bad. 
They’ve got her in CT checking for a concussion, she had two blows to the head,
one in the back and one at her temple.  They are taking her to x-ray after
that.  From what we could tell, she already had bruises forming on her torso,
so I’m sure they will be checking for cracked ribs.  They will have to assess
for internal damage from that blow, the bruises were forming fast.”

“What else?” I demand, glaring at them hoping they catch my
inference.  I might lose my mind again if I have to spell it out.  “Was there
anything else?” I say slowly, each word containing meaning.

“I was in the back of the rig with her,” the female said. 
“She had all of her clothes on when we got to her.  I was trying to keep her
talking because of the blow to head, watching her eyes, making sure she was
coherent and knew what was happening.  She said he back handed her and gave her
a boot to the gut, but other than that just threatened her.  I asked if she
knew him and she just said yes, but wouldn’t talk anymore.  Other than the
injuries we just told you about, I don’t think anything else happened.”

Closing my eyes and dropping my head, I let out a breath. 
Getting it together, I look up and say, “Thank you.  Do you know who the doctor
is that is working on her?”

“Yeah, it’s Dr. Aimes.  He’s good, evaluated her and sent
her for tests right away to see what he was dealing with.  She should be back
soon,” the guy answers.

“I appreciate it,” I turn back to the waiting room to let
her family know.  When I get there, the Carpino’s have started multiplying. 
Nic is here with two of her aunts and some of her cousins.  I tell them what I
know and we have to wait for her to get back.  Mac is standing off to the side,
so I join him.

Twenty minutes later, a white haired, but not old looking
doctor in green scrubs comes out the doors and says, “Gabrielle Carpino?”  
More of Gabby’s cousins and other aunt have shown.  The group is huge.  Her
aunts jump up and get to the doctor first.  Realizing he has such a large
audience, the doctor starts informing everyone on her condition, “Gabrielle has
a concussion and severe bruising to her ribcage.  We don’t see any fractures,
but they don’t always show on the scans and the treatment is the same if she
has a fracture or just bruising.    She has a good bump on the back of her head
and at the temple.  We don’t see any signs of internal bleeding or damage to
any organs.  I’d like to keep her overnight to observe her for the concussion
and make sure she doesn’t present with any signs of internal damage.  All in
all, for what she experienced, she’s lucky her injuries aren’t more substantial
and she should make a full recovery.  She will need time and rest to heal.”

“I want to see her,” Lizzie demands. 

The doctor looks over her shoulder at Gabby’s massive family
and says with a warning, “Just a couple at a time, we will be moving her to a
room shortly.  She’ll be drowsy because of the medication we’ve given her for
the pain.  She’s going to have one heck of a headache, so she’ll need quiet and
rest.” 

Lizzie, Tia and Emma forge ahead through the doors to get to
their niece.  I want to take them all down to get to her myself, I need to see
her.  But I’ve only known her for five fucking days.  I feel a hand on my
shoulder.  I turn around to see Tony and he says in a low voice, “Hey, I’ll
make sure you get in there, and soon.”  I don’t know what my body language is
saying, but clearly he could tell that I need to get to her.  All I can do is
lift my head in appreciation and I move to the wall and wait for her aunts to
come back out. 

As I stand here waiting for what feels like a year, Gino
walks up to me and says, “Jude, I need a word.”  I see him taking me in, looking
for something in me, what, I don’t know.  Finally, he crosses his arms and
starts, “Gabby’s a strong girl.  She gets that from her mother.  Meredith was a
tiny little thing, but no weakling, that’s for sure.  Gabby was strong like her
mom until she lost her parents.  Don’t get me wrong, she’s still a spitfire and
even though she has all of us, she doesn’t have siblings, so she couldn’t help
but feel alone when she lost her family.  She puts on a good front, but every
one of us can see it, she’s been going through the motions of life, holding
herself back.  That fuckwad, James, broke her heart at a time she was already
broken and although we’re happy as hell he’s gone, we hated to see her
experience that even though she downplayed it at the time.  Now, you’ve barely
been around a week and don’t get me wrong, you seem like a good guy.  We can
all tell there is something going on with you and my niece.  I would never ask
this, but with what’s happened today, we have to do everything we can to
protect her from every angle.  I think you being here now means something, but
I’m gonna say it anyway.  If you don’t have a true interest in my niece, you
need to get going.  But, if you think there’s something to you and Gabby and
you plan on sticking around to see it out, then you’re welcome to stay.  But
now is the time for you to make that choice.  And once you choose, son, you’d
better damn well stick to it.”

Shit.  I know he’s her uncle.  I know they’re her family,
they’ve had her forever and are more than protective after experiencing losing
her parents.  I know they don’t know me.  And I know he has every right to say
what he just said.  But that fucking pisses me off.  She’s only been mine for
five days and that’s exactly what she is as of right now.  Mine. 

I pull in a breath to calm myself down when I say, “You’re
right.  I’m here and that means something.  I’m not going anywhere and if she
lets me, I’ll see her through this.”  That’s all he’s getting from me.  I’m
afraid to say anything else that will show him just how much he’s pissed me
off. 

Gino stares at me a beat then lifts his head once and says
on an exhale, “All right,” turning to look back to his brothers he says
decisively, “Jude needs to get in to see Gabby, get the women out.”

Tony and I walk back into the ER bays, we hear her aunts
talking softly.  As I pull back the curtain to walk through, I see Gabby laying
there asleep.  Her right temple has a large bump and the bruising is seeping
out onto the side of her eye.  Thinking how hard he must have hit her to do
that makes my stomach turn.  She’s in a hospital gown, they have her hooked up
to an IV and I can hear the beeping of the machines monitoring her heart and
breathing.  Her three aunts are standing sentry around her bed.  I move to the
foot with Tony next to me.

Tony, gently doing what he needs to do to remove his aunts
from the room says, “Dad wanted me to tell you that you’re needed in the
waiting room.  Jude and I are going to stay with her.” 

“I’m not leaving, Tony.  You can just tell your dad--”
Lizzie starts saying but Tony interrupts her with, “Mom, other people need to
see her, too.  She’s not going anywhere, she’ll be here all night.  There are
probably things you all need do for Gabby at home.  Someone’s gonna have to
keep Mia tonight and make sure she’s set when she gets home tomorrow.  You all
can work on that.”

Sighing, Lizzie gives in and says, “I’m sure Lanny and
Sophia will take Mia, I’ll arrange it.  We should get to her house, clean it
and start making her some dinners or something.”  She looks up at her sisters
in law, “What do you think?”

Emma and Tia both agree.  All three women take turns leaning
down to gently kiss their niece on the head and say their goodbyes.  I move to
the side of her bed and without taking my eyes off Gabby say to Tony, “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

I pull up a little round swivel stool, lift up her hand and
turn it over in mine.  I see scrapes, bright pink scuff marks on her palms that
are usually smooth and soft.  “Fuck, I didn’t do enough,” I whisper.

“It’s not your fault, Jude.  You’ve gotta let that go.”

“I didn’t want her to go out shopping today alone.  She
talked me into one store.  One store was all it took and she was vulnerable.”

“Gabby can be persistent and usually doesn’t have a problem
getting what she wants.  She was the same way with her dad.  Shit, she’s that
way with all of us.  She can be hard to deny.  You’re new to her charms, Jude. 
No one can blame you for giving in to her,” he says, his tone is a mix of
frustration and resignation. 

“I should have stuck with my gut feeling about her going
out,” I say.  Then looking up at him, “But that’s good to know.  I’ll remember
that.”

“Good luck with that,” Tony says sarcastically.

A nurse comes in and starts directing us, “We’re ready to
move her.  Her things are on the counter in a bag.  If you could grab those and
follow me, we just had a private room come open.  She should be able to go home
tomorrow.”

Tony leaves to tell his family they are moving her and her
room number.  As the nurse starts clipping all her medical lines to the bed and
making some noise, Gabby starts to stir.  She turns her head and barely opens
her eyes and I lean down close to her face, placing my hand on the uninjured
side of her head and say, “Hey sugar.  You’re safe.  You’re going to be okay.”

“Jude?”

“Yeah, baby, right here.”

She looks at me and I gently take her hand in mine.  Her
eyes start to fill with tears.  Seeing the look on her face and tears in her
eyes for the first time, cuts through me like a knife.  I want to pick her up
and hold her at the same time put my foot through another wall.  I can barely
hear her when she says, “I’m sorry.”

“Gabby,” I whisper back, “what do you have to be sorry for?”

“I didn’t believe you.  I should have listened.  I never
thought Trevor would hurt me.  I’m so sorry, now I’ve put everyone through
this.”

“Sugar, listen to me, no one knew what he was capable of so
don’t say that.  Your family and I are just relieved you’re okay.  I’m going to
be right here, I’m not leaving you.”

Her tears start to spill over and she goes on, “It’s just
the things he said to me, I never thought he would be capable of anything that
happened today.  He was a different person.”

“I know, babe.  Let’s talk about it later after you get some
rest.  They’re going to keep you tonight to watch you.  I’ll stay with you,
alright?”

“Okay.”

“Try and go back to sleep,” I say, hoping sleep will come so
she can stop thinking about what happened.  I lean down, kiss her mouth and I
can taste her tears.  We roll out to get to her private room, I follow carrying
a plastic bag with her stuff in it and carrying her IV. 

They move her from one bed to the other and I can see how
much pain she is in when she tries to move.  I make a mental note that she
needs to keep on top of her pain meds.  She settles, getting as comfortable as
she can while looking tired again.  I walk over, kiss her forehead and say,
“Gabby, please, go back to sleep.”

Her eyes are so drowsy, but she looks back up at me and
says, “I can’t believe I have to get beat up and threatened by Trevor Harper
for you to say please.”