Caught in the Crossfire

The first blow was a shock, the pain went shooting through my thighs, down my legs, and up to my back until there was a reverberation of anticipation flowing over my skin. A streak of humiliation hit soon after, it threatened to take every ounce of my pride and burn it in a heap of ash. I could almost see the ashes fluttering through the room, out the window, toward the ocean where the breeze would scatter them in the sea. My pride was wounded and heat rushed to my face, coating my cheeks with the unfamiliar bright red pigment.Despite everything, my pride was all I had left, it was the only thing holding me together. I clung to it as I counted down the minutes of my life. I never thought the end would look like this.It wasn't a hard blow, but it had enough force to make the sting tingle through my body, shaking the bars that were holding my resolve in place. He had used his hand, which was more than enough to make his point, that he was stronger than me, that he was in charge, and t

“We have some news,” Reese said as he dropped a file folder on my desk. “You know Beatrice Welsh, don’t you?”The name sent a shiver of desire through my chest. I knew her. The name brought back memories that plagued my dreams. I tried to hide my emotions as I looked up at Reese with a neutral expression.“The name rings a bell, why?”“The word on the street is that she’s been tapped to be the new counsel for the Trivisonnos,” Reese answered, knocking his knuckles against the desk as he sat on the arm of the chair in front of my desk. He was nonchalant, unaware of how his words affected me.“How reliable is the source?” I asked, my heart racing as I considered the consequences. I needed to get in touch with my own sources. If this was true and the Trivisonnos had hired her that meant they knew more than I had credited them for, more than any of us credited them for. “It’s from our undercover asset, he heard talk of a meeting between her and The Butcher. She looks an awful lot like th

Callie sat at the bar and I walked through the restaurant toward the empty table in the back reserved for one David Wattiers. I rolled my eyes at the name, only David used his full name to make a reservation. My face was steeled as I approached the table behind the waiter. I let the relief show when I saw it was still empty. I was early, not by much but enough that I had hoped I would have a minute to compose myself before I saw him again. It had been a year since I had last seen him and eleven months since I last spoke to him. I had become adept at avoiding him in court. Callie and I had found new bars and restaurants so I wouldn't risk running into him during my downtime. It had been a full lifestyle rework. This was going to be the death of me. He would be the death of me if the mob wasn't. My fear of the mob was pretty intense, though I had managed to hide it well. There was no way I would show weakness. They would pounce on that weakness and exploit every last facet of my sel

I watched as Beatrice and Callie disappeared in the cab and watched as it took off down the road. I wasn’t fast enough to catch her in the bar and now there was no hope of following her, she was damn fast when she wanted to be and I had hesitated too long. She slipped away. I almost had her in my clutches again. I knew if I could have just kept her with us for an hour, I’d have convinced her to stay. I could have convinced her to go home with us again. We would be doing something vastly different right now. I turned with a huff and saw Devon at the door, watching the road with regret. “She’s so angry,” he muttered. I could hear him, but just barely. I nodded in agreement, she was so angry. I pulled out my phone and sent Beatrice a text. I was letting my anger and fear get the best of me, but right now, that didn’

I watched the buildings fly by as our driver, Bret, drove me to our family’s new lawyer’s office. The offices of Moore, Kraft, Stein and Brichart were in the middle of the city and my grandfather had gone in early, no doubt to threaten someone before we arrived.  He was a formidable man, there were few people that didn’t fear him. He was coming with us to make his presence known at the firm. I knew within ten minutes he will have scared the firm into compliance. We had done this routine before. I knew the firm wasn’t pleased to add our name to their client list, but Giuliani would take care of their reluctance. He was probably doing that right now. The car was filled, there were four of us heading in. I tapped my fingers on the door handle as I counted down the minutes until we got there. I was nervous today and I knew exactly why.