“Mickey Balducci killed my mother,” I announced to the room. “My father avenged her death. The Balducci Brothers wanted retaliation. Jerry was working with them.”
Cordell and Glover didn’t move but Jerry’s eyes were locked on me and his face twisted with rage.
“You fuckin’ bitch,” he hissed and I kept moving slowly to the door but, for some bizarre reason, Jerry lost it, totally and completely and he kept talking. “I was Seth’s boy. Me. Then fuckin’ Chavez comes along and Seth thinks his shit don’t stink. ‘Hector this…’ and ‘Hector that…’ like he fuckin’ walked on water. Everyone knew, once Bernie left and Seth settled on his new boy, that new boy would get you. Everyone. We all worked on it, we all wanted it. We knew the only one Seth would trust with you, the only one Seth would trust to take care of you, was his boy. The one who’d take his place when he retired. That was me until fuckin’ Chavez came along.”
I couldn’t help myself, his words shook me so much, I’d stopped and was staring at him, mouth open.
“Then Chavez fucked us,” Jerry snapped, his eyes moving to Cordell and Glover. “He fucked you too. Made Seth look the fool and he fucked us all.”
“Don’t know about you but I’m still gettin’ paid,” Glover returned.
“You dumb fuck, Seth isn’t eligible for parole for years, do you think –?” Jerry started but Cordell interrupted him.
“Yeah, and for those years he put you in charge, he made you his boy again and now you’ve fucked him. So, tell me Jerry, who’s the dumb fuck?”
Then Glover remarked, his voice full of disbelief, “Shit, Jerry, you roofied Sadie? Jeez, Seth’s gonna be pissed.”
“Like I said. Dumb fuck,” Cordell put in.
“Fuck you!” Jerry shouted in Cordell’ face.
“Blow me,” Cordell returned.
Oh my.
This wasn’t going well for Jerry but also (more importantly) I had no idea what it meant for me.
Then everything happened at once.
Jerry charged Cordell, I could tell it was not to fight him but so he could get by him and get to me.
I came unstuck and ran to the door, got my hand on the knob but it flew open when I did. I wheeled backwards, lost balance and landed on my behind.
Marcus and African-American Hottie were in the room, guns up and shouting.
Cordell and Glover twirled, pulled out their guns and started shouting back.
Jerry jumped across the bed, toward me.
I got on my feet, twisted, grabbed the first thing I could find, which was a lamp, and twisted back to see he was nearly on me.
“Stop!” Marcus yelled but Jerry didn’t stop.
I swung the lamp just as a shot was fired. I hit Jerry in the shoulder with the lamp and he went down but his hands went to his thigh where blood was coming from a bullet wound.
“Stay down,” Marcus ordered, advancing, gun on Jerry as African-American Hottie was still in an armed faceoff with Cordell and Glover.
I stood, clutching the lamp and breathing like I’d run a race.
“Sadie, you okay?” Marcus asked.
I slammed the lamp down and then put my hands back to my hips.
“No. I. Am. Not. I’m sick of being kidnapped. Hector’s probably out of his mind!” I screeched.
Marcus kept his eyes and gun on Jerry but I could swear his lips twitched like he was fighting a grin.
Now, really, seriously, by all that was holy, somebody, please tell me, what on earth was funny about this?
I looked at African-American Hottie and he looked like he was amused too.
“What’s fucking funny?” I shouted.
“Maybe you should sit down, love,” Marcus suggested.
“I don’t want to sit down. I want coffee. And brioche with marmalade,” I snapped back then I looked back at African-American Hottie and realized he was still in an armed faceoff and I should probably do something about that. “Um… African-American Hottie?” I called. “They’re good. They’re with me.”
Cordell, who was also African-American, had his eyes locked on African-American Hottie and he asked, “Is she talkin’ to you or me?”
“I’ve no fuckin’ clue,” African-American Hottie replied.
“I know your name, Cordell. Blooming heck, I’ve known you for years. I’m talking to the other African-American Hottie in the room,” I explained.
Marcus (I’m not joking) started laughing.
Laughing!
“My name is Darius,” African-American Hottie said.
Without anything else to say (and not wanting to be rude), I replied, “Hi, Darius.” Then I waved for good measure.
“Who are you?” I heard said from below me and I looked down to see Jerry staring up at me like he’d never seen me before.
And that’s when I knew.
I knew exactly who I was.
So, because I knew, I told Jerry, “I’m Sadie.”
*