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"Iswearif this wasn't important, girlfriend, I'd never be passing this vibe to you right now,” she insisted. “I know you think there's no gossip in it, and you don'tcare, but it's the most valuable gossip ever! Girl, I beg you, you can’t miss out on it. I will text you the address," she pleaded, with the same fake voice as before but this time higher-pitched, louder, and more dramatic.
I could sense her desperation behind this cryptic message, but I swore to God—thank God I attended church now—if this was about her dying in the hands of that Mafia lord boyfriend, I didn’t care one bit.
I angrily stood up and headed to the gym bathroom. As the cold water splayed on my body, I could feel my overly tense muscles start to relax. The movement, sound, and feeling of the water cascading over my body were so soothing I wanted to stay there for the rest of my life. But curiosity and annoyance got the better of me, and I turned off the shower and returned to my phone. I stared down at the address Christine had sent. I decided to go.
I arrived outside a cave-like restaurant that emanated luxury. I chuckled dryly as I stepped out of the car. This better be good, and I didn’t care if her life got ruined. I knew we weren't supposed to wish anyone bad luck, but I just didn’t care.
So many things were going on in my mind as I walked into the restaurant. The upscale environment made me conscious of what I was wearing, and everything looked so perfect and fake there. It seemed more than appropriate that Christine had chosen a luxurious and superficial place to discuss whatever seemed like a danger to her.
The inside of the restaurant exuded opulence and comfort—the cave-like design being an imitation of a famous tourist city whose name I couldn’t remember. I scanned the room for Christine and saw her at the far end of the room. I headed towards her.
She looked up at me with a smile, and I gave her a dead stare, which made her quickly look away. I pulled out a chair and sat down, still eyeing her and daring her to act friendly again.
I raised my eyebrow in question, and she began to talk.
"I'm sorry for what happened, and I know no amount of pleading will make things right or make you forgive me…" she said as tears began to well in her eyes.
"I'm glad you understand that. So, what am I here for?" I said calmly. A waitress approached, and I dismissed her with a wave.
"I think someone has a personal beef with you, Anthony," she said. I looked at her, confused.
"Who?" I asked, resisting the urge to be sharp-tongued.
"The guy you came to the hotel with that day I saw you. He recently met with my husb—Derek, again, she stammered.
"You can’t hurt me anymore, so speak freely, will you? Do you mean James? The tall, weird-looking guy?" She nodded in affirmation.
"And how do you know this?" I said impatiently. I wanted her to spill everything she knew at once.
She sniffed and continued, "He came back to see Derek a few days ago. I overheard him and Derek arranging some sort of a task for you, except that their plan is to e-eliminate you," she said as if she was still in shock from hearing it. My brain immediately began to analyze every single encounter with James, from the first time I had met him until now.
"They said you would be given your first task soon, and, since it's not unheard of for people to die on the first assignment, it will just appear to have been an accident… or your mistake," Christine explained as she reached out and grabbed a small part of my jacket sleeve.
"Anthony,” she continued, “They said it's because of a girl. Anthony, these are bad people—you can't piss them off. How will my baby survive without you? Please, can you just leave this woman alone?"
That revelation brought every ounce of anger in me to the surface. I yanked her hands off of me, and I lowered my head, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Thank you for the heads up, Christine. I really appreciate it. But don’t think for one second that your helping me now redeems you for all the damage you caused in the past," I said calmly as I could and stood up to leave.
***
James was trying to kill me? Because of a girl? Laura? Why? Had the boss noticed us and ordered James to get rid of me? I know the boss and I were not exactly friends or anything close to that. But still, I got my job done, never had any personal conversations with him, and always maintained the hierarchy and respect in the organization. I knew that James had seen me that night at Laura's house and had asked me to back off. But I thought I had been careful ever since then.
All these thoughts were scattered in my brain. Maybe I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was. All this while, I had thought I was far from any type of trouble. Apparently, I had been living right in the middle of it.
After putting Amanda to bed, I slumped onto the couch in the living room, my mind racing with different thoughts and possibilities. Should I take my daughter and leave before dawn? Going to work certainly didn't seem like a safe option anymore. Fear had taken hold of me, and I couldn't shake it off. I needed help, but I didn't know who to turn to.
My thoughts then wandered to Laura, and I realized that I hadn't heard from her all day. I pulled out my phone to call her, but when I checked the time, it was already after midnight. It was too late to call her now. I felt a wave of helplessness sweep over me as I sat there in the dark living room.
That's when I decided to text Christine.
Me: Do you think we can talk about something right now?
My fingers trembled slightly as I typed. After a few seconds, my phone vibrated with her response.
Christine: Yeah, I'm free. Heading out of town with some friends, though.
Me: I'm not sure of anything at the moment.
