“As long as you know what you’re doing,” he says, leaning back in his seat.
A short laugh erupts from my lips. “I have no clue what I’m doing,” I confess. I run my hands through my hair and lean back, shaking my head. “I just want to be happy.”
“You deserve to be happy, Tonya. Don’t let him hurt you. And when the time comes, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“He’s not going to hurt me, not ever.” I don’t know when the conversation changed, but we both know who we’re talking about. I won’t say it though. I won’t name him.
“Not the way you’re thinking.” He walks to his door and locks it before shutting the shades. “What are you going to do when he gets charged with something, and it sticks?”
I shake my head, “I’ll figure it out when it happens.” My hand subconsciously goes to my belly. I jerk it away before he has time to see. I know he loves me; I know I love him. And he’ll take care of us both.
“I hope he treats you right, Tonya. I really do. But if he ever does anything, or any of them ever do anything,” he looks at me with absolute sincerity, “I’ll be here for you.”
“Thank you, Jerry.”
“Don’t thank me,” he says bluntly. “You’re asking for trouble.” I know what he means, and I understand it, I really do. But I can’t help what I want.
A sad smile plays at my lips as I say, “I’m good at that, apparently.”
He looks at me for a long moment and I don’t know what he wants from me.
“I’ll be alright, Jerry. I promise you.” I stand up and walk over to give him a quick hug.
He walks to the door and unlocks it, but before he opens it, he adds, “I just hate to see a good girl like you wind up with a man like him.” I can’t help the smile that grows on my face. He has no idea that I’m really a bad girl at heart.
Tommy
That was intense. I'm shocked at how fucked up I am over that shit. I scouted it out first. It took everything in me not to run to her as that prick put his hands on her. I got that fucker. I took him down first. I've been in worse situations though. Vince brought everyone. It feels so fucking good to know he still had my back.
Those Russian pricks didn't stand a chance, and only two of 'em even got a shot off. They aimed at nothing. They couldn't see us in the dark. The one that took cover--fuck, if I was him, I would've just killed myself. Instead now he's sitting there, chained to a chair with a gag in his mouth. He should've known this was going to happen.
“Whatcha gonna do with him, boss?” I ask Vince.
“Well, we got the information we need, so I couldn't give two fucks. Figured you may wanna take some aggression out, since it was your girl he took.” Vince walks over to the sink in the back room. We're in the basement of the safe house. It's fucking freezing down here. The fucker in the chair has bruises all over his face. His one eye is swollen so bad his face looks inhuman.
Anthony's drying off his tools. I instinctively look down and see three fingers on this fucker's right hand have been removed. That's usually Anthony's first move. They're easy to cut off, and it makes a pretty bold statement.
“So you got everything you need?” I ask Vince as he dries off his hands. He turns back to me.
“Yeah, they aren't going to fuck with us unless they want their entire operation shut down. Thanks, Nik!” Vince slaps a hand on the man's shoulder and he doesn't even react. He's so close to death.
“Alright, I'm good. Just kill the bastard,” I say.
Vince looks at Anthony and he nods as we turn to leave. Anthony's not talkative when he's on the job. Never has been. I used to take offense to it. But now I get it; he has to be in the right headspace, and that doesn't include saying a fucking word.
“There's one more reason I called you down here,” Vince says as we climb the stairs.
“I figured there was.” And it's about Tonya. I know it is. I waited at the station and followed her home last night. I just held her all night; I needed to feel her. Knowing I almost lost her fucking hurts. I'm not letting her go. I can't.
“I understand that you wanna be with her. And truthfully, she's a nice broad.” We walk into his kitchen and he grabs me a beer. The faint sounds of a chainsaw can be heard coming from the basement. It sends chills down my spine.
“I'm not leaving her, Vince. I can't do that.” My stomach drops, knowing that what means. I don't wanna leave my family. The familia is all I know. But I'm not letting her go.
“I get that. I do.” He passes a beer to me and shuts the fridge.
Leaning against the counter, he pops the cap off his beer with his keys. “She's still associated, Tommy.” I put down my beer and shake my head as he tries to pass me his keys. I can't drink right now. “You know we can't have that shit.”