The Arrangement Anthology 2(132)

Heart hammering, I ask, “Where are we going?”

“Stop asking questions and do as I say, or you’ll never see Sean again.” He hooks an arm around my waist and glares at Peter. “Your choice, Avery. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

My entire body is shaking. It’s beyond a minor tremble and I hate it for betraying me. Marty laughs lightly, shaking his head. “You finally figured out you should be afraid of me? It fucking took long enough.”

Marty yanks his arm, pulling my back to his front. I feel something hard and round pressed against my spine. He shouts to Peter, “Get out of here, unless you want me to put a bullet in her back. I’m guessing the Ferro clan doesn’t want another dead woman on their hands.”

Peter yells back, “No one would think I killed her.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure. Once a Ferro, always a Ferro, isn’t that right Pete?” The use of his old name makes Peter’s shoulders stiffen and I wonder what secrets he’s hiding. The principal with the turkey vulture and the sweet girlfriend is the Peter I know, but Marty knows something more—something dark.

Peter turns his eyes toward me. “One hour. That’s it. Then Mel comes for you—fuck that, I’ll come for you—and I guarantee you won’t like it.” Peter’s voice is low and lethal. For the first time, I see a strong resemblance to Sean. The look he gives Marty promises pain.

“Drive away, Pete. She’ll be right here an hour from now.” Marty holds me tight, pinning me against the barrel of his gun.

“Go, it’s all right.” I mean to sound confident, but my voice is shaking.

Peter swears, jumps back in his car, and peels out, leaving me alone with Marty. I watch his taillights shrink to nothing as his black car is swallowed by the night.





Chapter 3

Marty inhales deeply and removes the gun from my back. There are too many emotions going through me at the moment to nail one down, so they all come flying out. The second the gun is down, I round on him and knee his nuts. Marty yelps and bends forward. My knee comes up again and connects with his nose. Meanwhile my hands ball into fists, hitting him every chance I get. I’m screaming at him, bellowing, “How could you?”

His betrayal snakes around my throat and tightens until I can’t stand it. I lash out at him with renewed energy, hitting him over and over.

Marty shrieks, “Holy fuck, Avery! Cut it out! Stop or I’ll make you stop.”

Rage takes over my body and my brain struggles to keep up. My body continues to tremble, but not from fear. “Bullshit! That’s what this is! That’s what you are! You don’t even have him, do you? This was just another invention to get me naked or some other stupid shit. I hate you! I hate you, Marty!”

I grab both sides of his head by his ears and tug, hard. Shocked, his face comes flying toward mine and I head-butt him. We collide with a loud thunk. Marty swears, nearly falling over. Since I’m not a ninja, the momentum knocks me on my ass, my head throbbing in pain. I touch my forehead and feel warm blood on my fingers. Rage flashes across my face—I can’t hide it. I jump and lunge at him, screaming while I do so.

“I trusted you, you bastard!”

“Fine, the hard way it is.” Marty reaches for me as I rush at him. He catches me by the shoulders and the momentum of being jerked to a stop makes my feet go flying. I land on my back and let out an oof sound. I barely have time to catch my breath before Marty covers my face with a white cloth. I try not to breathe, but I can’t hold my breath. When I finally suck in air, it tastes too sweet and burns my throat. Marty pins me to the ground, as I claw at his hands, trying to get the cloth off my face. It’s poisoned. No, it’s not—oh no. My head feels light and I start blinking. My body goes limp and before I can figure out why, I lose control of my hands and they flop to the pavement. I stare up at the inky sky with its spattering of stars, watching Marty remove the cloth.

As he pulls it away and my eyes flutter shut, I notice two letters on the handkerchief.

S. F.

The world fades to black.





Chapter 4

My head is screaming when I start to regain consciousness. It feels like it’s made of lead and possibly in a vice. It seems a great deal fatter than normal, or maybe it just feels that way. I try to open my eyes but they’re too heavy. I try again, but still no results. Sound begins to penetrate the fog surrounding me. I lie still and listen to two voices arguing heatedly in hushed tones.

“…then we wouldn’t be in this situation!”

“If you hadn’t interfered, none of this would have happened, Ferro. This is your fault. You think I wanted to do this to her? She’s insane when she’s mad. You know that.”