Rock Chick 02 Rescue (30 page)

Chil s raced down my spine, bile came up my throat and my voice went on vacation.

How he got my phone number, I’d never know. I didn’t even want to know.

“I’l shove it up around your hips…,” he paused. “Oh, now, that’s sweet. Here comes your wetback boyfriend.” My head came up and I saw Eddie walking my way.

Dear Lord.

Vince could see us.

I stood on shaky legs and looked around in a panic, trying to find where Vince was hiding. The yard backed up to an al ey and had houses on either side. There were people everywhere. The shakes in my legs hit my torso and I wrapped my arm around my stomach.

“Yeah. I’m watchin’ you bitch. Waitin’ for my moment. I don’t give a fuck what protec—”

The phone was ripped away from me and Eddie was there. He put the phone to his ear and listened for a minute.

Obviously, Vince wasn’t done talking.

Eddie’s faced changed to an expression I’d never seen before. It was beyond what he wore last night. It was beyond anything. It was indescribable.

He flipped the phone shut and stared at the ground for a second, his jaw working.

I held my breath.

Then he turned and, with a vicious side arm throw, he threw my phone across the yard. It slammed into the margarita pitcher with such force, the glass pitcher exploded, and so did my phone, bits of it went through the glass and skipped across the table and most of the yard.

Everyone went silent and turned to look.

I stared in the direction of my phone.

“Eddie,” It was Lee, standing close, his voice low, his eyes serious.

I realized my mouth was dry and I swal owed.

Eddie’s eyes went to Lee.

“Fratel i,” was al he said.

A muscle moved in Lee’s cheek.

“
Mi hijo
.” Blanca was there and speaking quietly in Spanish to Eddie. He responded in Spanish and his mother’s startled eyes came to me. “
Sí
,” she said.

Eddie turned to me. “Your mother stays here tonight, tomorrow she moves to Tex.”

It wasn’t the time for discussion and certainly not the time to argue. Eddie was beyond angry: I was scared speechless. Trixie and Ada arrived, Mom leaning on Trixie, al of them looking worried.

I nodded.

“You’re with me.”

I nodded again.

“The party’s over,” he finished.

Once Eddie announced the party was over, I learned how Blanca could pul off such an extravaganza so quickly.

Eddie’s sisters and aunties went into action; clearing, cleaning and tidying while the interested parties moved to Blanca’s living room: me, Eddie, Mom, Trixie, Ada, Blanca and, for moral support, Indy and Al y.

Hank and Lee came with us and stayed for a bit, then, when Tom brought in my mother’s chair and handed Trixie’s keys to her, they al went into the hal and formed a male huddle with Malcolm, talking in quiet voices with tight faces.

Hank and Lee peeled off and disappeared. Malcolm and Tom hooked up with Kitty Sue and left.

I noticed this and didn’t, mainly because I was busy trying to tel Mom about the mess I was in without giving her another stroke. I sat on my knees on the floor in front of her, she was sitting on the couch and Eddie was standing beside me.

I told her the story of my week.

Mom’s face got pale.

Then her eyes got hard.

When I was done she said, “Your
fucking
father.” Wow.

I didn’t think I’d
ever
heard Mom say the f-word.

“Mom, stay calm,” I said.

“I’m calm. I’m calm enough to say when they put me away for murdering your father, they’l know it’s premeditated. One-armed or not, I’m gonna kil that jackass.” She looked up at Eddie, “Sorry Eddie.” He cocked his head slightly, indicating he wasn’t going to cuff her just yet.

Mom’s eyes turned back to me. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t—” I started but she interrupted me.

“I know what you didn’t,” she snapped in a mother-talking-to-idiot-daughter voice, “you didn’t want me to get sick again. Jet, for goodness sake, I’m not made of glass.

You can’t handle me for the rest of my life like I’m going to shatter.”

“Easy for you to say,” I whispered and stared at her.

She didn’t see herself in the hospital bed after it had happened; her whole left side limp and slack, even her face, her voice slurred and her eyes unfocused. It was horrible.

I wasn’t going to say it but I didn’t have to.

Her hand went to my cheek.

“Thank you, dol face,” she said quietly and I pressed my cheek into her hand as tears fil ed my throat.

Then she said, “But from this point on, you’re off duty.” My eyes flew to hers but she was looking at Eddie.

“I’m moving in with Trixie,” she announced.

I gasped.

Eddie spoke.

“You’re stayin’ with my mother tonight. Tomorrow you’re movin’ in with a friend who can keep you safe. I don’t know what’s gonna go down next and I’m not takin’ any chances.

When it’s over, you can move in with Trixie,” Eddie said in a voice not to be trifled with.

“Okay,” Mom said immediately, deciding not to trifle.

“But…” I started, feeling the somewhat desperate need to trifle.

Eddie pul ed me up by my arm and talked over me.

“Trixie, you come back with us, pack a bag for Nancy, enough for a week.” He turned to me, “You pack a bag too.” I opened my mouth to speak but Eddie kept on issuing orders, looking at Trixie.

“You can bring Nancy’s bag back, but I don’t want you two to go anywhere unless you arrange to have someone with you. Do you understand what I’m sayin’?” Trixie nodded, eyes wide as saucers.

“Indy, stop by to see Tex. Tel him he’s gonna have company.”

Indy nodded too.

Eddie started to drag me toward the door.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I looked at Blanca.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to her, on the trot because Eddie was stil dragging me.

“I’l take care of
tu mama
,” she promised.

* * * * *

“You’re a good girl,” she said, her eyes glistening. She nodded to Eddie, probably too scared of him at that juncture to give him a hug, and went through her door.

I told myself not to cry and luckily, my self listened.

Trixie packed for Mom and gave me another tight hug.

She looked at Eddie then looked at me. “It’l al be okay,” she said.

she said.

I wished I could believe her.

Trixie took off, I packed and Eddie and I went to his place.

We didn’t talk. Eddie was in a mood.

Truth be told, I was in a mood too but I was keeping my mood to myself.

And my mood revolved around my
fucking
father.

Where was he?

It didn’t matter, I was going to find him and tel him exactly what I thought.

Something else. I was never again going to be as scared as I was that night.

Never.

I didn’t know how I was going to get control of my life but I was going to do it, one way or another.

No one made my Mom say the f-word.

Eddie carried my bag into his house and dropped it on the floor in the bedroom. Then he went around the house, closing al the blinds and making sure al the doors were secure. I stood in the middle of the living room, turning in slow circles, watching him move.

His face was hard and I could tel he was barely hanging onto his control.

Once he was done closing us away from prying eyes and locking us in tight, he grabbed my hand and dragged me to the bedroom. There, he dropped my hand and turned away, pul ing off his sweater.

“Eddie,” I said.

He glanced at me as he sat on the side of the bed, tugging off his boots.

“I have something to tel you and you have to promise not to get mad.”

Or, more like,
more
mad.

His eyes flickered and something fluttered in my bel y.

He dropped his second boot, stood and moved in close.

“What?” His voice was as tight as his face.

I took a breath.

“I saw Vince last night, at Smithie’s, right before I saw the guy with the gun. He made his threat then. I didn’t tel you ‘cause, wel , the guy with the gun kinda took precedence.”

Okay, so I was being semi-honest. It wasn’t the time to tel Eddie that I never intended to tel Eddie. It was the time to make sure Eddie had every piece of information Eddie needed to do… whatever Eddie had to do.

“He said if he fucked with me, Marcus would give him a bonus because of you. He said you and Marcus hate each other. He said Marcus would even go to war with Lee to get at you. Whatever that means.”

Eddie’s jaw worked.

Then he asked, “He say anything else?”

I shook my head but looked away and said, “Just stuff about what he was gonna do to me.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said and my eyes moved back to him, “he told me that too.”

It was clear that none of this did anything for Eddie’s mood.

“I’m sorry about al of this. You can’t…” I stopped, my eyes dropping, not knowing what to say and I took a step away but he caught me by the waist and pul ed me back.

“Jet, look at me.”

I looked at him.

“He isn’t gonna touch you.”

He said it in a way that made me believe it.

His hand went up my side and then pul ed down my zipper.

“No one touches you,” he said and pul ed my skirt up my hips, bunching the dress at my waist and then up, yanking it off. “No one, but me.”

His eyes weren’t warm and liquid, they were hard and glittery.

I had the feeling this was more than just about Vince; this was about anyone, anywhere. This was about me being branded in an entirely different way.

The breath in my lungs started to burn.

“Oh… kay,” I said and that one word shook.

He pul ed off his t-shirt then his hands came around me and unhooked my bra. He slid the straps down my arms and tossed it aside. I wanted to cover myself with my hands but I didn’t figure that was a good move.

“Are you angry?” I asked.

He was looking at my body but his eyes came to mine.

“Yeah,” he said, “I’m angry.”

His hands pushed down my panties until they fel to the floor

He lifted me up by my bottom and I had no choice but to wrap my arms and legs around him. He twisted and put a knee to the bed, planting me on it and then settling on top of me.

“Maybe we should talk,” I whispered.

“Now she wants to talk,” he muttered into my neck, his hand between us, working the buttons at his fly.

I felt a different kind of flutter in my bel y.

His mouth came to my ear and his fingers touched me between my legs and I caught my breath.

“In a minute, I’m gonna fuck you so hard, neither of us are gonna think about this and after, we’re gonna be so exhausted, we’l sleep. Tomorrow, we’l talk. Does that work for you?”

I bit my lip and nodded my head.

It
so
worked for me.

“Good.”

Then he did what he promised.

* * * * *

Eddie wasn’t in bed with me and I heard voices in the other room.

I threw my legs out of bed, felt on the floor for anything to put on and my hand found Eddie’s sweater. I pul ed it over my head and walked to the door.

It was closed.

It hadn’t been closed when we went to sleep.

I started to open it, it came ajar an inch and then I stopped and listened when I heard Eddie talking.

“...This shit,” he finished.

There was a pause.

“I can take care of this for you,” another man said.

There was no answer.

“Give the word, Ed. I’l take care of Fratel i.” My breath stuck.

“Darius, you’re not going to whack Vince Fratel i for my girlfriend.”

Eek!

Eddie cal ed me his girlfriend!

“No, I’l have Fratel i whacked because he’s an asshole.

I’l be happy to give the order. I’l be beside myself with fucking glee.”

Oh… dear… Lord.

I knew what “whacked” meant, I watched TV (or I used to).

There was another pause and I could feel the negative waves pounding against the door.

“You forget,
mi hermano
,” Eddie said softly, an edge of warning in his voice, “I’m a cop.”

Silence and more negative waves.

“The offer’s on the table,” Darius final y said.

“That’s where it’s gonna stay,” Eddie replied.

More silence while I imagined Darius shrugging.

“Don’t tel Smithie any of this shit. He’s told you he’s ready to cal in his marker for Jet, I don’t want him to take that offer you just gave me,” Eddie said.

You could have blown me over with a feather.

Darius was the “brother” that owed Smithie a favor.

How smal
was
Denver? And if it was that smal , why couldn’t I find my Dad?

Then Eddie asked the same question. “Any hint of McAlister?” Eddie asked.

“The guy’s slippery. I know he was at a table the other night, did wel , not wel enough to pay off Marcus but he paid him al the same. I’m guessin’ with whatever he stole from King.”

King?

Who the heck was King?

He had to be the guy who shot at me.

“What’d he get from King?” Eddie asked.

“The cops don’t know?” Darius sounded surprised.

“He’s shut tight. Not sayin’ anything. Asked for an attorney immediately.”