“I don’t think I have a choice, Kitten. I will see you later, I promise.”
“The hell you will!” My father jerks me back away from Nick and gets right in his face. Fisting his hands, Nick immediately turns away from his glare. “You are nothing, but a loser. You will never be anything, but a loser. If I ever catch you near my daughter, I will kill you and your loser friends.” My father grabs Nick by his collar. “Do you understand me?”
Nick turns and looks into my father’s eyes, “I understand you - perfectly.” A sudden calmness comes over my father. He lets go of Nick and backs away. My father puts his arm around my shoulder and pushes me into the house.
“Daddy, why did you do that? I …”
“No, you stay away from him, Franky. He is dangerous. Trust me, baby, he is nothing, but bad news. You have to stay away from him for your own good.”
My father wraps his arms around me and holds me, asking me what happened and telling me he will take care of it for me. I try to tell him that Nick has already handled everything, but he refuses to hear Nick’s name.
After a long debate back and forth with my father about Nick, I finally decide to take a hot shower and wash the night completely off of me. My father checks on me a half a dozen times throughout the night and every time I ignore him, refusing to speak another word to him until he finally agrees to listen to me about Nick. When he himself finally retires for the night, I crawl into bed and stop showing my stubbornness towards my father. As I try to fall asleep, I feel something strange and open my eyes to see a shadowy figure standing outside watching me. Without thinking, I jump out of bed and raise my window, “Nick?” His weak smile becomes clearer and clearer until I finally feel his sweet breath on my face.
“Sorry, I know it’s late, but I wanted to make sure that you’re okay,” he says, running his fingers down my cheek.
“I am, thank you.” Overwhelmed, I reach out and pull him to me and kiss him, like I want to. His soft warm lips are better than what I remembered. “Can you stay with me, at least until I fall asleep?”
“Whatever you want,” Nick crawls through my window and into my bed with me.
It feels so good to lie against his chest and hold his hand, but the best part is feeling his sweet breath whisper, “Go to sleep, beautiful, I’m here as long as you need me to be.”
“Stay all night. I need you to stay with me all night, Nick. I feel safer with you here, I feel … so much better when I am with you.” I look into his eyes and suddenly I feel an overpowering awareness take over me. I only want him.
“I will stay with you all night then,” he says as his weak smile becomes as strong as mine.
Chapter 13
~Nick~
Luke is already starting trouble when I walk up to meet him and Elijah. “What is he doing?” I ask Elijah.
“Being a dumbass as usual.” We both watch as Luke taunts some high school kids playing basketball, until apparently Luke finally crosses a line, and so the irritated ballers, decide to come after him. Elijah and I walk up to his side, and they back off immediately.
“Yeah, you better run!” Luke yelled joyfully. Elijah smacks Luke in the back of the head before I get a chance to. “Hey, what was that for?”
“What is wrong with you? Can you not be calm for a second? You’re like on a constant sugar high,” Elijah rants, as we take off to do our job.
Before the night is over, we manage to steal four cars and drive them to the exchange for our payment. The last one, I drove around a little longer than I should, but it was so sweet I couldn’t help myself. One day, one day I am going to buy whatever car I want. I decide to drive the car by Franky’s and check on her, but with her father home and I can do no more than knock on her window. She sits studying as I would have expected, but smiles wide when she sees me.
“Hi,” she says looking me over. She has a wrap on her wrist and cuts and cruises all over her arms that make me cringe. Franky hides them instantly under her clothes as best she can.
“He hurt you pretty bad, huh?” She shakes her head, but I know better. “I can’t believe you liked him, he treats people like shit, especially the girls he dates.”
“I didn’t know that, he seemed nice in the store.” She looks down at her feet.
“I’m sorry, I should have said something, but I was …” My phone suddenly goes off, and being that is Harvey, I can’t ignore it. Before I can say much else, I have to go. “I have to go I have a job I have to get to.”
“This late?”She asks and I nod. “It’s not a normal job is it?” I don’t respond. “Could you get hurt?” Again I don’t respond, I simply rub my thumb gently across the bruises on her wrist. “You should make sure your warm at least.” Franky unwraps the scarf from her neck and begins to wrap it around mine. “It’s my lucky scarf, my mother gave it to me before she died. It will keep you warm … and safe.”
I hated to leave Franky, there are so many questions I want to ask her, but Harvey has one last job he wants done. Something simple he says, but that something simple has us breaking into a competitor’s warehouse and stealing a shipment that just came in. It’s a test, a test to see how loyal we are to Harvey, how helpful we can be to him. It is going to determine our roles, who we will be under or who will be under us. I know that I will not be happy working for someone else, especially for anyone on Harvey’s crew. Brilliant strategists they are not, they are more like beastly enforcers. Before we move in, I am handed my own gun for the first time. I have never had to handle one before. I don’t know why it bothers me now, it is not as if I didn’t expect to have to use one, at some point. I have been practicing with Elijah at the shooting range, but it is one thing to be aiming at a paper target and another to be aiming at someone breathing.
Creeping in through the back, we make our way to the warehouse, waiting for the unexpected. My heart is racing, and my mind is going even faster, then it begins. The morons we are with, rush in and the three of us not being much smarter, follow after them. Elijah and I concentrate on the shipment, get it released, get it moved, get it out the door and get it onto the truck. Luke watches our backs, having no problem taking care of anyone that comes our way, even seeming to enjoy it.
“There is one more, boys! Go back and get it!” Matt, Harvey’s right-hand man, yells at us.
“Are you crazy? There is no way we can go back in there now. All hell is breaking out in there!” I yell back at him. “If you wanted more than this, then you should have told us, so we could have planned for it ahead of time. It is too late now.”
He simply smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “It is your job, unless you want to be the ones to tell Harvey you failed? But I don’t think you will make it that far,” he says, aiming his gun at us as well as five other guns. That fucker always hated us.
“Come on, Nicky, we got this.” Elijah grabs my arm, and we slide out the back into a dark corner. We begin to analyze our best, next move, or really any move that won’t get us killed. I spot the ladder to the roof and point it out to Elijah. He nods and motions for Luke to follow us. Once we get in, we watch the fighting below as it is slowly comes to an end. Our last men begin to flee, leaving us to die alone.
“The truck left us,” Luke says as he sits down next to us. Son of a bitch!
“Let’s just leave it and go,” Elijah says.
“No, we are getting it, and we are going to prove to that motherfucker that he can’t make a move without us from now on.” Studying the area, I devise a plan to get us out of here in one piece and with the remaining container. It’s simple, but patience is needed. All we have to do it wait, wait until the calm, until the enemy relaxes. A two stage hit, no one ever expects that, I hope. We watch breathlessly, as they clean up, inspect the damage, and report to their higher ups.
After things are quiet, and there is nothing more than a few guards sitting around a table playing cards, we make our move. Elijah and Luke move down to connect the last container to a truck that is sitting ins
ide, while I stay behind and watch their backs. Once they are secure and ready to go, all I have to do is create a diversion away from their escape route. I begin searching for just the right thing and end up finding a man checking on a large amount of cash within a safe, 22 … 33 … 19.
My attention is distracted for a moment, but only for a moment, I am not about to let my friends down for cash. Jumping to the front of the warehouse, I focus on the forklift and drive it straight through the front door. Security begins chasing after me, and thankfully, not recognizing the assault on the back door at the same time. I enjoy my ride, but jump off within the dark and run back inside. That cash is mine. The place is virtually empty now. The one man I have to get around is scared to death and hiding. I easily make it past him to the upstairs office and quickly take possession of the cash within it. I have only one armed obstacle on my way out, and with my gun raised, he pauses, but so do I. I have never shot anyone before, never had a reason to. I don’t even know this man, he has never done anything to me, except be in my way. Slowly my gun starts to fall, while the guard reaches for his and takes aim at me with no problem at all. I don’t have a chance to run or even retake aim, all I can do is stare into the barrel of his gun.
Suddenly the gun behind me, fires and the man in front of me goes down. “What is wrong with you, Nick? Why didn’t you shoot him? He was going to kill you. Damn, what are you doing back in here anyway? Let’s go?” Luke screams at me, jarring me out of my trance. Gripping my neck, I fist Franky’s scarf and smile.
“Did you have fun?” Elijah yells at me when I catch up to the car. I shrug still smiling. “What is wrong with you, are you crazy?”
“I’m fine, I got a lucky charm,” I say showing off my scarf. “Franky gave it to me, and it worked too.”
Elijah rolls his eyes, “Great, the girl in love, saves the man she has always loved with a … scarf. How beautiful.”
“Loves? Always loved?” I sit up looking at him as he nods. Elijah and Luke begin making fun of my scarf, by wrapping up their necks with shirts and whatever else they can find. That doesn’t bother me, but the flipping of their hair and sighing like little girl is ridiculous and annoying. “Enough already! If you don’t stop I won’t share what I found,” I say pulling out the cash from the safe. My friends instantly change their tunes, and begin singing my praises, and my scarf’s too.
We report to Harvey with the remaining container, shocking him, but also pleasing him. Matt is instantly scolded for leaving us, but only for appearances. Harvey won’t let Matt go, he is still too valuable to him and he doesn’t trust us enough yet, to take his place. Harvey rewards us each with some extra cash before sending us on our way. We never tell him about the safe I emptied, and instead we split the cash equally. I stash my share into a safe place, a contribution to my future plans. I only hope, I make it long enough to experience them.
~
The boys and I go out the next day and enjoy our rewards from the night before. I decide to take my portion and spend it on a girl, who I have recently become fond of. I don’t understand her hold on me, but I enjoy her smile and making her happy. Holding off Elijah and Luke briefly, I step inside the old store and walk right up to her, as she sits with her book. I lean over the counter to her and toss her scarf around her neck. She looks up with a beautiful smile, sending an abundance of energy running through my body.
“Hi, what are you doing here?” Franky asks with a small bruise still on her cheek.
I sweep the tender area with my thumb, and she lays her head against my hand. “I wanted to check on you, and give you your lucky charm back, and give you these too.” I hand over a bouquet of flowers and watch as her eyes light up, like I have never seen them before. “Are you feeling better today?”
“Wow, these are beautiful, thank you. You really didn’t have to, Nick. I’m fine. I slept perfectly after you left and my father and I are talking again for now.”
“Oh, I definitely had to, I owe you now. The scarf helped me last night. You saved my life, Franky.”
“Really?” She asks.
I nod reaching across the counter, and touch her hand, “So I guess you are not so much into your man anymore, huh?” She shakes her head. “Do you like anyone else?” She shrugs with an awkward nod. She is a terrible liar. “Oh, well, if you need any more help with your research for this new guy, let me know.”
Franky with her sweet, awkward smile, reaches out touching my hand, and taking hold of it with a joyful sigh. “I would like that, actually I like …” Say it, Franky.
“Nicky! The cops are looking for us. Harvey said we need to get back now,” Elijah says, running in with Luke behind him. “We need to go. The cops turned down at the corner when they saw us.” As Elijah finishes his sentence, the cops walk in behind him.
“You three need to come with us,” one announces in a commanding voice.
“Why? We haven’t done anything,” I say.
“Oh, yes you have. All three of you were spotted by a witness down at a warehouse that was raided last night. You are wanted for criminal trespassing and murder.”
Before I can say another word, Franky steps in front of us. “Last night? That is impossible. They were with me and my friend at the movies. They lost a bet, and had to pay for us to see the new documentary, on how our environment effects our personal beliefs. It was quite amazing, but I am afraid these three fell asleep almost immediately. Very disappointing.” She glances our way with a smirk and a shake of her head.
“Are you sure, Miss?”
“Franky, what is going on out here?” Her father walks out from the back, eyeing me briefly, before putting his arm around his daughter’s shoulder.
“We were talking to your daughter about where she was and with whom she was with last night, Sir.”
“She was at the movies,” Franky’s father says confidently. “I dropped her off there myself.”
“And she was with these three?” the cop asks, gesturing our way in disbelief.
“She was with her friend Brandi and …” her father looks back at us, “and probably them too. They are always hanging around my daughter and her friend, these idiots have been trying to impress them for weeks. I guess they have never met girls who are of higher moral standard than they are. They are certainly annoying, but if my daughter said she was with them, then she was. I would hope that you are not calling her a liar. I know my daughter officer, and she has never lied to me or anyone else.” Franky’s hand tenses, but both of the cops remain stiff in their stance.
“Sir, I don’t believe that your daughter is lying, but I think it is still best that we take these three down to the station and have a talk with them.”
“I assume you have a warrant to do that?” Both cops look down at their feet and shake their head. “Then I would suggest you go search for the real culprits,” he says showing them the door. Her father turns to us, “I owe you one for helping my daughter, and that was it. Don’t expect anything else from me, and that includes my daughter. Stay away from her from now on.” I nod and back away, following Luke and Elijah out the door. I look back only once at Franky’s weak smile. Why is it always the ones you shouldn’t want, that you do want?
Chapter 14
~Franky~
My flowers sit precisely in the center of my room so I can see them from everywhere. My father isn’t too happy about them, but he is tolerant since they make me happy. I know how he feels about Nick, but I can’t help how I feel about him either. I have to reassure my father a few times before he finally leaves for his girlfriend’s house. I cannot think of anything other than Nick, so I decide to go to bed, and let my imagination carry me away. Nick apparently has other ideas, he walks up the steps to my door before I can lay my head down. My excitement takes over and I meet him at the door. “Hi,” I say, pulling him inside with me.
“Did I wake you?” he asks so smoothly, my knees nearly give out from under me.
“No, I hadn’t even gone to bed yet.?
??
“Why did you help me, Franky? Why did your father help me and my friends?”
“He talked to the police, and they told him what you did. They said that Parker is going to press charges against you? You are going to get into trouble for that, aren’t you?”
“Don’t worry about it. The most important thing is that he won’t be bothering you anymore,” he says looking down at me and brushing my hair out of my face.
“Nick, let me talk to them and explain. You shouldn’t be …”
“Apparently, I broke his jaw, some ribs and a few other bones, Franky. Nothing you say is going to change what I did to him.” He smiles and continues to touch my face.
“Maybe my father …”
“Your father? I’m so sure he will be happy to help me out - again. Don’t worry about it, Franky. I promise it is taken care of. Besides, if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change anything, except that I might have punched him one more time or two. I couldn’t let him get away with hurting you.” He leans in and kisses me gently along my swollen cheek.
“Are you hungry or something?” I ask nervously. I take his hand and try to lead him further into the house, but he stops me. “I wasn’t planning on staying. I only wanted … well I had to see you.” I turn to him and force a smile, still worried about what he is here to tell me. “Your Dad made it hard on you, didn’t he, for lying for us?”
“Yeah, but it will be okay. He didn’t even ask me about it. He won’t bring it up ever again, I am sure.”
Nick shakes his head. “I’m sure he won’t. Actually, now I am stalling, I really want to ask you about something else. About that night at the party? I was wondering what you were thinking with Parker. Why did you pretend to like someone, you apparently can’t stand? Why all the makeup and cheap clothes for someone that didn’t even matter to you?”