At Peace (82 page)

I felt another tear slide down my face but
this time it coincided with a sob sliding up my throat.

I choked it down and put a hand to the glass
as my legs started trembling because I knew I was clean out of
emotional glue. This one had broken me. I knew it. I felt it. I was
broken. There were no strong arms to hold me together. No big, hard
body to climb into bed with and hold onto. Not this time. Never
again. Not… ever… again.

“Let’s move,” I heard an impatient voice
saying and I whirled around to see one of Hart’s henchmen moving
closer to me.

“What?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. He grabbed my arm and
dragged me out of the room.

I dropped the robe on my way out.

* * * * *

“I’m Frankie,” she whispered.

“I’m Violet,” I whispered back.

“Cal’s woman,” she said and I swallowed.

“Yeah,” I replied and that one word broke
because I was, for a short, glorious period of time where me and my
girls were able to make him smile, make him laugh, give him what he
always wanted.

Hell, just that morning he was teasing
me.

And I’d told him to go away.

And he did, to tell my girls good-bye for me
after seeing to it that they got ready for school.

I closed my eyes tight as the memory
assaulted my brain.

She was silent a moment then she said, “He’ll
be okay.”

“They killed him,” I told her.

“What?” she asked, her voice getting louder,
tighter, pissed.

“Quiet!” the henchman barked.

Sitting in the back of the car, Frankie and I
got quiet.

Then she reached out and took my hand.

Then she squeezed.

* * * * *

“House’s clear. They hauled ass,” Pryor told
Cal and Benny.

They were standing on the sidewalk outside
Hart’s house. There were cop cars everywhere, Chicago PD and Feds
crawling all over the place.

“Any clue where they’d go?” Benny asked.

“Got men out everywhere,” Pryor answered, his
eyes on Cal. “They musta got a tipoff that we were comin’.”

“Frankie,” Benny muttered.

“Boss,” a uniform called as he walked to
their huddle. “We got film,” he said when he stopped and all the
men’s eyes turned to him but he was eyeing up Cal.

“Film?” Pryor prompted.

“Civilians,” the uniform murmured, using his
chin to indicate Benny and Cal.

“Spill it, Krakowski,” Pryor bit out.

The uniform looked at Pryor and nodded.
“They took him,” his head jerked to Cal, “to a warehouse with
cameras. Feed went to the house. Boys figure they hauled ass when
he,” another jerk of the head to Cal, “took down Hart’s two boys
then drilled rounds in their legs.”

“Self-defense,” Benny stated instantly.

“
Right,” the uniform replied, his gaze
shifting to Benny, his mouth hard, “by the way, did I
mention
we
got film?
”

“
We’ll sort that out later,” Pryor cut in
then went on, muttering to himself, “so he saw Joe got loose and
took off where?”

“More film,” the uniform said and Pryor’s
eyes focused on him.

“Jesus, Krako, spit it out,” Pryor
snapped.

“
Security of the house. They got a brunette
too. She was sittin’ in her car outside,” he pointed at a sweet,
old model, red, Nissan Z car at the curb. “They nabbed her, took
her into the house, five minutes later both women were in a car
with a coupla Hart’s boys and headin’ out. Hart followed in another
car. Got the cars and plates. They’re already out on the
line.”

Pryor looked at Cal. “It’s somethin’.”

Cal stared at Pryor and didn’t reply. It was
something, this was true, it just wasn’t fucking much. And after
Benny and Pryor briefed him, now Cal knew that Hart knew Cal had
called Sal for the hit which meant his motivation had shifted. He
also knew that Cal was loose and he likely knew the Feds were on
his ass. The man was whacked which meant, him knowing all that, he
wasn’t going to follow script. He was going to be unpredictable.
This was evidenced by the fact that he drove Cal all the way to
Chicago to finish him off. Outside his MO. Hart normally didn’t
fuck around. Hart wanted Cal in Chicago because Hart wanted it
filmed because Hart wanted to watch him die.

Cal wasn’t a chore, a mess to clean up. This
was retribution.

And he had Frankie and Vi.

“Fuck,” Cal muttered.

They all turned when a paramedic jogged up to
them.

“Gotta get the girl to the hospital,” the
paramedic said and all eyes shifted to the ambulance where Lindy
was sitting on the back and another paramedic was squatting by her
leg. “You comin’?” the paramedic asked Cal.

“Nope,” Cal replied and the paramedic’s gaze
moved through both of Cal’s graze wounds before they went back to
his eyes. “I’m good,” Cal finished.

“You need those seen to,” the paramedic
advised.

“I’m good,” Cal repeated.

“
But –” he started, Cal’s body shifted
slightly and he stopped speaking then muttered, “right.” He nodded
to Cal then Pryor then hoofed it back to the ambulance.

Cal started to move away, saying, “We’ll be
at Sal’s.”

Benny moved with him when Pryor called,
sounding surprised, “You waitin’ this out?”

“Not much else to do,” Cal responded and
headed to Benny’s SUV.

“
Um…” the uniform mumbled loudly, “we might
have some ques –”

“Later,” Cal heard Pryor cut him off.

“But –”

“Later.”

Cal swung into the passenger side of Benny’s
SUV as Benny climbed behind the wheel.

Benny turned to him. “We goin’ to Sal’s to
wait it out?”

“
Fuck no,” Cal replied, “we’re gonna find
Ricky.”

“Cal,” Benny said low and Cal turned to
him.

“Ricky, Benny.”

Benny stared at him, got that crazy
motherfucking grin on his face again, started the car and then shot
from the curb.

* * * * *

“What the fuck, Danny!” Frankie and I heard
the minion’s angry shout from the other room.

“Don’t,” Daniel Hart returned.

“
This shit is fucked,” the minion shot
back. “We don’t got a situation. We got fuckin’
four.
”

“I’m handling it,” Hart retorted.

“
Yeah, right,” the henchman snapped,
“you’re not handlin’ shit. You’re
still
chasin’ twat. Fuck! We shoulda took him out in Indiana.
Crazy ass shit, bringin’ that fuckin’ guy to Chicago.”

“I wanted to watch,” Hart replied and I
closed my eyes and pulled in breath.

Frankie grabbed my hand.

“
Like I said, fucked,” the other man was
still shouting, “two boys down there, Danny. Took out
two
of
ours
down there. Cops in our business everywhere for
weeks. And I got sources tellin’ me the Feds got the books.
Giglia’s boys are on the hunt and our men are scramblin’. And that
guy’s stone cold. You saw what he fuckin’–”

“Quiet,” Hart’s voice was low but sharp.

“Hands behind his back, Danny.”

My eyes opened and I looked at Frankie who
for some reason was smiling.

“
Quiet!
” Hart shouted and there was quiet.

I felt Frankie’s body get tense then she
released my hand. I tore my eyes from the closed door we were
behind and watched her move.

“Frankie!” I hissed but she just lifted a
hand and waved it at me as she moved on silent feet across the
room.

“
I’m your man, Danny,” the minion said, his
voice quieter, “been your man a long time but I’m not goin’ down
for some dead cop’s cunt.”

“What did you say?” Hart asked as I watched
Frankie at a window, she was taking her time, trying to be quiet
and slowly working it up.

I left the couch we were sitting on and ran
on bare thus luckily silent feet toward her.

“You heard me,” the henchman stated.

Frankie pushed the window up and it made a
noise which was drowned out by a gunshot. Frankie and I jumped and
looked over our shoulders at the closed door.

“
Danny!” the other henchman in Hart’s posse
shouted, “Jesus Christ, you just shot Brady.
What
the fuck!
”

“Go,” Frankie whispered and I looked at her.
Then I threw myself through the window, landing on soft turf. I
rolled away from the window and got to my feet. She followed me
out, I grabbed her hand, yanked her up and we ran.

We heard the second gunshot as we went.

* * * * *

Benny led and Cal followed as Benny opened
the door to a sleazy bar that had the name of Slim Jim’s.

Ricky was sitting at the end of the bar
looking the same as ever. Thinning non-descript hair. Thin
non-descript face. Thin non-descript body. Weasel eyes and, even
though Cal couldn’t see him or hear him, he knew Ricky had bad
teeth and was a mouth breather.

Ricky’s head came up when Benny came in. He
clocked Benny and then he was on the move.

Benny and Cal sprinted after him.

They caught him out the back alley, Benny
grabbing him by the back of his shirt, he yanked him to a halt then
turned him and shoved him face first against the wall.

Benny grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm
around and up, got close to his back and asked in his ear, “Why you
runnin’, Ricky?”

Ricky turned his head, saw Cal and his face
got white.

“
Jesus,” he whispered then rallied, “hey
Cal.”

“Talk,” Cal replied.

“About what?” Ricky asked, Benny pushed in
closer and Ricky’s eyeballs slid way to the side in an effort to
take in Benny. “Yeesh, Benny, man, what the fuck?”

“Talk,” Benny repeated Cal’s word.

“Like I said, about what?” Ricky asked.

“About where Hart would take Cal’s woman,”
Benny answered and Ricky’s eyes went to Cal.

“You got a woman?” he asked, openly surprised
or acting that way.

“Ricky, we don’t got a lotta time,” Cal said
instead of answering.

Benny pushed off and moved a foot away so
Ricky could turn to face them, back still to the brick wall of the
alley.

Ricky’s eyebrows went up. “You two workin’
for Sal?”

“Cal asked you a question, Ricky. We don’t
got a lotta time.” Benny reminded him.

Ricky’s eyes went to Benny. “Don’t know
nothin’ ‘bout Hart.”

Benny looked at Cal. Cal caught his eye and
then looked at Ricky. Then he moved, dipping low, he caught Ricky
with an upper cut to his kidneys. Ricky’s arms went around his
belly, he bent forward and coughed.

After doing this for thirty seconds, his head
shot back and he wheezed, “What the fuck!”

“Where would Hart go on the run?” Cal
asked.

“
Hart’s a crazy motherfucker. Don’t know
nothin’ ‘bout him, don’t
wanna
know nothin’ ‘bout him,” Ricky answered and Benny moved in,
hand wrapping around Ricky’s throat, pinning him to the brick
wall.

“
It’s your business,” Benny reminded him,
“Mr. Information. You know everything about everyone.”

“Don’t know about Hart,” Ricky rasped, his
fingers curling around Benny’s forearm.

“We don’t got time to deal. You sell
information. Today, you’re buyin’ it with your health,” Benny
informed him.

“
Ben,” Ricky choked, “you know Hart. I got
in his business, he’d get in mine. Don’t need that shit. I steer
clear.”

“You got to have heard somethin’,” Cal told
him and Ricky’s eyes came to Cal.

“I hear it, I forget it, I stay breathin’,”
Ricky’s voice sounded strangled and he was tearing at Benny’s
forearm with his fingernails.

“What’d you forget?” Benny asked, leaning in
close and Ricky gagged. “What’d you forget!” Benny shouted in his
face.

“Ben, boy can’t talk if you choke him to
death,” Cal said quietly, Benny looked over his shoulder at Cal and
stepped back.

Benny’s phone rang and since it was in Cal’s
back pocket, Cal pulled it out, looked at the display and his brows
snapped together. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.

“Yo,” he said.

“Collect call from Francesca Concetti. Will
you accept the charges?” an operator asked.

“Yes,” Cal clipped, his eyes sliced to Benny
and he mouthed, “Frankie.”

Benny’s back went straight.

“Ben?” Francesca whispered.

“Frankie?”

“
Oh Jesus,” she was still whispering,
“Cal?”

“Frankie where the fuck are you?”

“Boathouse –” she started then he heard Vi,
her voice tight, high, something weird in it.

“Is that Joe?”

“Yeah,” Frankie whispered.

“Give it to me,” Cal heard Vi demand and then
he heard a tussle. Finally, Vi came on the phone. “Joe?”

“Baby, where are you?”

“Joe!” she squealed.

“Jesus, Violet, keep it down,” he heard
Frankie hiss.

“Oh Joe, Jesus, honey, oh God,” Vi whispered
then he heard a tortured sob.

“Buddy, hold it together and tell me where
you –” he stopped talking when he heard the phone moving around and
then he was back to Frankie.

“Hart told her you were dead,” Frankie
explained and Cal clenched his teeth because this was a cruel thing
to do to anyone, especially Vi; because he could still hear
Violet’s sobs; because he was getting no information; and lastly
because they were on the phone but it sounded like they were
unsafe.

“I’m alive. Where are you?”

“He took us to a boathouse. North. We’re on
the lake. We climbed out the window, went through the trees and
broke into another house,” Frankie answered.

“Hart’s not there?”

“No, he’s –” she was cut off by Vi.