A Hopeless Wound (7/?)
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Author's note: You guys are amazing. I've never received so many reviews in my entire career as a fanfic writer! (A very short one I should say...) *lol* Anyway, here's another chapter for you, hope it lives up to your expectations. Stay with me, there's still a lot more to come!
Malinda, boscoslut, glad to know you're reading! ;)
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Chapter seven
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Faith held him until his sobs quieted down, his shoulders stopped shaking and his breathing slowed back to normal.
Although she'd never fully understood Bosco's relationship with his mother, she knew Rose had had a huge impact in his life. In her eyes, they were proof that a mother and her child can be close despite their obvious differences. They'd always said whatever they felt to each other, and yet had remained close over the years.
Trying to cope with the death of a parent is always tough, but especially when such death is violent and unexpected. Recovering from a wound like that would take a lot of time and all the support he could get, and although it would probably never heal, she was positive that they would get through this. Together.
She owed it to the woman who'd always thought of her as a daughter and had thanked her numerous times for watching her son's back and being a loyal friend.
Holding him in her arms, she became aware of how much she'd missed him, and how deeply their lives were connected.
Individually they'd grown a lot over the past year, but even all those changes hadn't severed the tie that bond them.
Fate works in mysterious ways, and it doesn't always make sense. It could keep them apart for the longest time, but all it took was a couple minutes and they'd act as if nothing had ever happened.
Negative actions had caused them to drift away, and now negative actions had brought them back together.
In one single moment and with one simple action, all Faith's doubts had disappeared, and she realized that she needed him just as much as he needed her. Like two musical instruments, they could function alone but did their best when they played together.
Feeling Bosco shift his weight, Faith pulled back slightly and gazed at him.
"You feeling any better?"
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "A little."
Breaking down in front of her didn't make him proud of himself, but letting part of his emotions out and having someone to turn to had actually helped a lot.
He pulled away and leaned back against the wall, running a hand through his hair. "They killed her because of me." He said in a heartless monotone.
Faith looked directly into his eyes. "No, Bos. What happened last night wasn't your fault. You're not responsible in any way."
Bosco lowered his gaze. "Like hell I'm not."
She reached out and touched his cheek, her fingers brushing over the side of his face in an intimate gesture that surprised even herself. "We'll find the shooter. And I promise he's gonna pay."
He raised his head and stared at her. "We?"
Faith smiled. "I was cleared for duty today. Think I'll be riding a desk for a while, but I'm officially back."
Bosco nodded. "That's good. Listen, I... I'm sorry, Faith. For everything."
"Me too."
"I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I..."
She waved him off. "Not now. There'll be plenty of time later."
She got up and held out one hand to help him stand. "Do you still have that room in the back?"
Bosco's fingers curled around hers and he rose to his feet. "Yeah."
"Come on. Let's get you to bed."
He stiffened. "I can get myself to bed."
"I know you can. I'll just feel better helping you."
He was too numb to argue as she led him to a small room where Rose used to crash when it was too late to get back home.
"I trashed the place..." he admitted, looking around at the mess he'd caused.
"It's okay, Bos. We'll fix it tomorrow."
He shook his head sadly. "I'll never be able to fix this."
Faith looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. She sensed that his words had a deeper meaning, but decided not to ask him about it.
"Here. Lie down." She pointed to the bed and started to help him out of his jacket.
"I can do it."
"Sure. I'll be right back. I think I've got a couple aspirins in my purse."
When she came back a moment later, she found him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at a necklace that was dangling from his hand.
"She wanted to be a grandmother."
Faith stilled, unsure about how to reply.
"The night of that fire at the grocery store, she asked me when I was gonna give her a grandchild."
A small smile curved her lips. "I'm sure she'd have loved to spoil a grandchild, especially a granddaughter."
Her hand touched his shoulder. "Take these." She said softly as she handed him a glass of water and two pills.
Bosco carefully placed the necklace back into his jeans pocket and downed the pills.
"Think you'll be alright for a couple hours? I told Fred I was gonna get some milk, and that was about an hour ago." She hated to leave him like that, but she had no choice.
"Yeah." He whispered though he really didn't want her to leave.
"I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak as fresh tears stung his eyes and threatened to spill.
Faith swallowed hard and took a step backward. "Bos?"
"Yeah."
"You might want to lock the back door."
"I will." He croaked out. The tears were already running down his cheeks.
He listened as she made her way outside, then lie down on top of the covers and closed his eyes.
***
Swersky sat at his desk, his fingers nervously tapping on the wooden surface of the table.
His clock read 11:41, meaning his shift was already over, but once again he'd found himself unable to leave the place.
Boscorelli was supposed to call to let him know where he would be spending the night, but he still hadn't heard from him. That didn't necessarily mean something had happened to him, although his 30 years of experience on the job told him that wasn't a good sign either.
Sighing, he got up, grabbed his coat and headed for the front desk.
"Frank, I'm going home," he said, getting the Sergeant's attention. "But do me a favour. If you hear from Boscorelli, give me a call. Doesn't matter the time."
"Okay, Lieu. Have a good night."
"Night."
***
"Look out, look out, she's leaving."
Leonard and Jermaine ducked in their seats as Faith came out of the bar and walked past them.They'd been parked across the street for close to two hours, patiently waiting for the right time to strike.
Leonard followed her through the rearview mirror until she rounded the corner and disappeared into the night, then took one last sip of his beer and gave his brother the 'okay' sign.
Jermaine grabbed his switchblade from the dashboard and got out of the car.
He'd decided to leave the Remington at home. A rifle was good for a long-distance shot, but for a man-to-man fight the knife was the best weapon.
Well, this time it would actually be a two-against-one fight, he thought as he smiled to himself. And they'd teach Boscorelli a lesson he'd never forget.
They looked up and down the street to see if there was anyone around and then walked up to the bar. Having watched Faith's every move since she'd first showed up, they already knew the front door was locked and headed straight for the back.
"You ready?"
Leonard smiled. "Lead the way."
The door didn't make any sound when they pulled it open, allowing them to step inside. The two brothers stood still for a moment, listening for any sound that would lead them to where the man was, but everything was quiet.
Jermaine's eyes scanned the darkened room, and he pointed to the right. Leonard nodded and they carefully inched forward, their footsteps quietly padding across the pavement.
"You sure he's inside?" The younger brother whispered.
"Of course he's inside. We've watched the damn place all night! Now shut the hell up and keep going."
"Alright! Calm down, man, I was just saying..." his voice trailed off when he tripped over one of the stools and fell to the ground with a loud thump.
"Fuck!" Jermaine angrily said. "You stupid son of a bitch!"
"I'm sorry, man. I swear I didn't see it!" Leonard apologized as he rose to his feet. "You think he heard us?"
Jermaine wanted to tell him that Boscorelli'd had to be deaf not to have heard it, instead he put a finger to his lips and motioned for him to stand between the back door and the restrooms while he moved to hide behind the counter.
***
Bosco heard the noise and jerked instantly awake.
He lifted his head off the pillow and waited, figuring it was Faith who'd forgot something on her way home.
The sudden movement caused his throbbing headache to resurface once again and he swallowed to shake off the nausea that was rapidly building in the pit of his stomach.
A full minute passed, and he started to wonder if he'd just imagined it.
Questioning his sanity, and remembering Faith's advice to lock the back door, he decided to get up anyway.
His legs felt heavy as he dragged himself out of the room, his body swaying slightly under the strain.
"Faith?" he tentatively called, his voice hoarse.
No answer.
Great. I'm hearing things now. I'm really losing it.
Reaching for the light switch near the counter, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A cold chill ran down the back of his neck and he turned around in time to see someone lunging after him.
His brain immediately registered the danger and adrenaline kicked in, mixed with an unexpected surge of rage. Despite his weakened conditions, he ducked down and punched his assailant in the gut.
The action took Jermaine by surprise, and he didn't have time to use his knife. The weapon dropped out of his hand, landing on the floor a few feet from them. The man doubled over in pain but was fast to recover and went after him again, this time hitting him in the stomach.
The blow forced all the air out of Bosco's lungs and he groaned at the discomfort as he went down hard.
Jermaine kicked him in the ribs and watched his face contort in pain, an evil smile plastered on his lips.
Bosco's feet lashed upward and connected with his attacker's groin, then he rolled sideways, knocking the man's legs from underneath him. He heard him mutter a curse and attempted to pull himself into a standing position, but suddenly another man appeared out of nowhere, tackling him and slamming his fist against his face. Bosco grunted, his head whipping back as the blow caught him on the chin.
Leonard took advantage of his moment of distraction and landed a few more punches, forcing him to his knees.
He was seeing double, unable to right himself, and his head hurt so bad he thought it was going to explode, but he glared at the man defiantly and tried to stand up again, blinking to clear away the haze that was closing in around him.
Seeing his opponent had his back to him, Jermaine quickly got up and hit him on the side of his neck.
Everything became blurry, and Bosco's body went limp on the ground.
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the counter for support as he caught his breath.
"Damn. The son of a bitch put up one hell of a fight."
"Serves him right." Jermaine muttered as he stood over him.
"Where's the knife?"
Wiping the sweat off his face, the older brother looked around, scanning the room. "Right there on your left. Under the chair."
Leonard crouched down and picked the switchblade. "Now what?"
Jermaine was lost in thoughts, his dark eyes fixed on Bosco's still form.
"What's wrong, man? You know we have to use it, right? Or Vernon'll have our asses."
Leonard had never killed a man before and wasn't really happy about it, but Vernon's reaction scared him even more, and he knew they had no chance but to follow his orders.
"Yeah. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun before killing him."
A smile spread across the young man's face as he watched the roll of duct tape in his brother's hand. "Great idea, bro."
Jermaine smiled back. "Come on. We gotta move."
TBC...