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“They’re going to fucking kill me if I go out there, Sia. Then what? You got no one. Spend the rest of your measly days knitting snowflakes with Gladys across the street.”
“Well, maybe if you hadn’t ratted on your friends, I wouldn’t be spooked every time I want to get some fresh air.”
His entire body tenses – I’ve crossed the line, and every muscle in me screams to slide off the stool, but my brain isn’t fast enough to send the signal.
Woosh!
He sends me flying off the stool. I slam hard against the tiled floor, hot, throbbing pain claiming the side of my face, having been hit so hard I blacked out for a fraction of a second. “Joey!” I gasp, choking back tears as I try to peel myself up. My arm stings like shooting pins and needles, and I swear my eye is swelling by the second from the pressure building in my cheek and temple.
“I’m sick of your shit, Alessia.” He points a finger at my face, making me cower closer to the floor.
Damn fool… The stress is really getting to me now, opening my big mouth like I’ve got something to fight for… My life isn’t even worth the hassle, I tell myself as I lay there, trapped by this shadow of a man. It’s just a sick satisfaction knowing I can tear him down too… at least in small ways.
Hours go by before I come out of the bathroom I’d locked myself into. My face is blotchy on one side from the hard hit, hurting worse than it looks on the surface, and my arm has a tile-burn on it. There’s still a pit in my stomach from being launched from my seat. Such a prick. Big man has to hit an innocent woman.
Dinner time approaches. I peek my head into the fridge and tear off tinfoil of some leftovers. There aren’t enough ingredients to make anything that’ll keep that jerk from mouthing off, and I’m still too shaken from earlier to leave. Might as well microwave what’s left of some chicken parm I made two nights ago. I used to love cooking big meals with my girlfriends. We’d gossip and have book club and laugh. Maybe in another life…
Miss you, girls.
I look over to the couch to see Joey’s fat ass on the computer, trying to find news on the mob, as usual. Get over it. You’re out, I want to tell him. Nobody cares about a rat.
Turns out… I was wrong.
Headlights pull into our driveway at this off hour. Arnold isn’t due for a visit, and I’m pretty sure that’s the same Cadillac from today.
“Oh my God.” I drop my spatula as Joey bolts out of his seat to grab a kitchen knife.
Car doors slam shut outside and I hear those two voices for the second time today.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Hunnie… I’m home!” The man outside laughs sadistically.
I shrink to the floor with both hands over my mouth. All of my fears come true.
Chapter 2
Alessia
“Open up in there, will ya?” The man from the grocery store slams his fist on our flimsy front door. “I know the feds don’t let rats keep guns in the house.”
Joey scrambles to shut the lights. The last thing I see is him gripping a huge carving knife in his right hand before everything goes dark. I’m breathing heavily with both hands over my mouth, doing my best not to make a peep. There’s nowhere safe to go. My backyard is fenced in. The closet space is too small for me to hide. I’m stuck here in the kitchen as the smell of a steaming chicken parm dish wafts around me, the rich scent of spices and cheese making my stomach churn.
My thoughts race to regret. I should’ve drove around on the highway for an hour until I lost them. I should’ve just fled to another state. This is my fault.
“Oh, did you hear that, Tone? That house must be infested. I heard some scurrying.”
Laughter echoes, then boom!
A boot nearly kicks the door off the hinges.
My mouth flies open in a scream, only for the fear to tighten around my throat, leaving me gaping soundlessly. Joey doesn’t so much as look at me to provide any comfort. A stab of cold detachment narrows my vision as I wonder if he’ll just flee on the spot and leave me to die in his stead.
Their car headlights are still on as they saunter into the house. I curl up as small as possible when I glimpse the silhouette of the man in the grocery store holding a silenced pistol.
“Thought we didn’t recognize you before, huh? Alessia Lucrazi.”
Uttering my name makes my bones rattle.
