CHAPTER 23-ASHES TO DUST, DUST TO BLOOD
~Thank you for the comments and adds! I really appreciate them and as you can tell, reviews are exciting for me because I don't get them Anyway, thank you again and keep on reading. I've got so much planned for this and you'll be missing out if you give up now~ Reanna.
The Cody home had been silent since the call from Javi. Even though the situation was bad to begin with, none of them had believed he was going to take it that far. Holding one of them as a hostage was enough to send them over the edge but what he did was pushing them harder than ever.
Baz quickly disappeared out into the garage and began to pull tools and whatever else Smurf had on the shelves onto the ground. Her car hadn't been parked inside so he had enough room to do what he wanted. He thought the meeting with Javi went well enough but his anger was now starting to target at Smurf. It wasn't a hard decision to make but she apparently had different thoughts. There was still nothing he could do because it wasn't like he could just start looking for Jessica.
Craig and Deran ducked out into the backyard trying to collect their thoughts. The two hadn't said a word to each other but they knew what ran through their minds. Craig and Jessica always butted heads but that didn't mean he wasn't going to protect his little sister. Deran stood at the edge of the pool with his face in his hands.
Pope had sat in the same spot but kept his eyes on the phone. There wasn't anything he wanted to say because no one would have listened anyway. J couldn't believe what had transpired and began to feel guilty for Jessica. He thought back to the night and wished he could have done something differently.
Nicky had come into view from the living area and glanced around at everyone, she could feel the tension in the air. "Is everything okay? Lena just fell asleep but wanted to know what all the noise was" She had been referring to Baz throwing this around.
Smurf had been facing Craig's room but when she heard Nicky's voice, she spun around. "Everything is fine, I need to talk to J before you go to school"
"Smurf, I don't think I really should go to school with what's going on"
Giving him a stern look, she just wanted to get him out of the house. Even though he would be safer with all of them, she wanted him to be out at all costs. She wasn't going to send him out with her sons due to his damage but she didn't know what to do. "Fine, when Deran goes back to the bar I wanted you both to go with him"
"Oh, I'm sure Deran is going to love that idea…" Pope chimed in before getting up from the chair. "Family discussion now" He had said it mostly towards Nicky who got the hint after a moment.
Looking towards Smurf due to her not knowing what to do, she told the teenager to go rest. Nicky didn't want to as she knew something was going on but she didn't know what. Pope called out to Deran and Craig to meet in the garage before disappearing. J had struggled getting off of the stool but began limping his way in that direction. As every Cody member went in the same direction, Nicky sighed before heading to the main living area.
Hearing the door to the garage open, Baz had turned away from everyone's cars to see Smurf out first. His brothers had popped up behind her with J being the last one. No one said anything at the mess, tools and random objects were scattered all over the concrete. He glanced at them but didn't say a word, actually, none of them had.
Placing her hands on her hips, Smurf looked at every one of her sons. "I know what all of you are thinking"
"Oh yeah? I can't wait to hear this" Deran commented which caught her attention.
Ignoring his commented, the matriarch continued. "What Javi did was unacceptable, he has no right to do that to Jessica. We will give him the money and we will get her back"
"Great, she finally comes to her senses only after something happened" Pope said with his stare laying directly on her.
"I need you all to do me a favor first…"
Pope had quickly cut her off. "Of course, you want us to put something on the line in order for this to go down. I would have thought differently considering your daughter is being held captive"
"You know what? I'm trying to make the best of the situation but if you want to nitpick everything then be my guest. Go ahead, walk away but know that your sister will sure find out"
Leaving that threat hanging in the air. Smurf wasn't going to stand there and have everyone critique her when she was trying to do the right thing. In her mind, she had been doing what needed to be done no matter who she was throwing into the mix. There were a few things that she had up her sleeve and they didn't know any of it yet.
Taking a view at them in the garage, she wanted to see if one of them would step out. None of them had moved so she started up again. "We buried Lou's body in a development back I the day which means there are houses built in that area. I want you to go dig up the bones and retrieve my gun that was buried. While you do that, I'll be meeting Javi"
Pope had shaken his head and turned away from the group. Craig and Deran exchanged looks knowing the mess they had to get into. J was leaning against a tool table and hung his head slowly. He wasn't going to be much help due to his leg but he knew Smurf wouldn't let him sit out. Baz had a feeling that something wasn't adding up right but he didn't want to follow them.
"I think I should go with Smurf. I talked to Javi first, I should be there if anything happens"
"We wouldn't be here if things would have gone differently last night" Deran spoke shifting his eyes towards J.
J hadn't noticed until he lifted his head and saw the eyes locked on him. He realized that the sentence had been directed at him. "What did you want me to do? Four guys came in here with guns, you want me to just dodge bullets?" His voice was calm but had a hint of irritation peaking.
Shrugging his shoulders, the blond responded. "Well, you could have been more helpful. So what if you got the shit beat out of you, my sister could be dead while we stand here and do nothing"
Stepping past everyone, Deran back through the door and disappeared into the house. He wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve often but this was a different case. Seeing Deran's little outburst only complicated matters more as it showed that no one was in the same head yet again. It took a couple of minutes for Craig and Pope to go in as well but Nicky had popped out into the garage seconds later.
J, Smurf, and Baz had peered at her. Standing there quietly, Nicky slowly pointed to the door. "Deran was heading out to the bar…"
Nodding at her words, Smurf had turned to J. "I'm sure your Uncles will fill you in on what to do. Don't worry, everything will be okay" She stepped over to J and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Smurf then turned away and walked towards Nicky. "How are you baby? How are you holding up?"
"I'm doing okay, is everything alright?" She had been referring to the mess.
Smurf smiled towards her and kissed her just like she had done to J. That motion made Baz turn away because he was angry at her over Jessica. If she would have paid the money in the first place, Jessica would have been home by now. Instead, he had no idea what was going on. Biting his tongue, he waited for the two teenagers to leave before saying anything.
"Alright Smurf, how does this work? Do I take you to a bank to take the money out or what?" Baz spoke once they were out of sight.
Smirking one of her famous smirks, Smurf obviously had another plan up her sleeve. "I think you should be asking yourself this question. I already told you that I don't have the money so I would suggest digging into that church money of yours"
Opening his mouth faintly, Baz's eyes had turned into slits. He couldn't even comprehend what she was saying, especially that she wasn't giving over her money in order to save her own family. "You've got to be kidding me? You have money Smurf, where is all of it that you get from our jobs?"
"Things are expensive…" She trailed off lying directly to his face. "I know you boys made good money off of it so then called this a loan. You take the money out to pay for your sister and we both get what we want in the end"
"We get what we want in the end? You expect me to tell the guys that I'm taking half of the money because our Mother refuses to pay? This isn't benefitting anyone. You have the money; I know you do. Sell the house if you have to"
"And you've got the money to show for it. You get her back, don't you? You may think I'm blind but I know what goes on in this house and everyone's lives. Hand over the money, Jessica comes home and we all get what we want"
Jessica had fallen asleep at some point after the drama that had occurred. It was either that or she eventually passed out from the pain. Javi and his men had taken rounds in order to check on her while getting their own breaks in as well. When it came Javi's turn, he had gone inside to see if she had woken up.
He had told the other men to peek inside of the building rather than go inside as he was the only one to do so. Walking towards her with a sheet in his hand, his footsteps echoed throughout the place as it was completely silent. Once he reached her, Javi turned her head from side to side in order to determine if she was sleeping or if she passed out. Since she didn't move, he proceeded to do what he went in there to do in the first place.
Bending down like before, Javi had untied her other arm and struggled to keep her from falling face first. After leaning Jessica's body in an angle that she was alright, he unwrapped the sheet and folded it a couple of ways. Grabbing the broken arm gently, Javi took the white sheet and started wrapping it around the arm and to the shoulder. Javi wanted to secure the injury so that she didn't try moving it or making it worse. Jessica couldn't have made it worse by the look of it. The back of her elbow was swollen completely and turned purple in patch ranging from the elbow to the upper arm as well as down to the wrist. The sheet had delicately wrapped around it perfectly as Javi wasn't sure if it was going to be long enough. Once he pulled it tightly, Jessica had jumped in the chair and screamed, making him flinch in surprise.
Jessica's eyes had darted around the room until she saw his feet to the right of her. She moved her free arm not realizing that it was untied and tried to scoot away from him in the chair. Javi watched her silently not expecting anything less but he didn't move an inch.
"You're going anywhere Jessica so stop trying to make a run for it. Besides that, you're not going to get anywhere with that arm"
She hadn't noticed that her arm was wrapped up until he said something. The panic button inside of her kicked in and her first thought was to get away as quick as she could. Jessica couldn't scoot the chair quick enough to pick up her own weight so after a few more tries she quit. Taking a look at the bandages, she ran her left hand over the cloth before finally looking at him.
"Why did you do this?" She questioned referring to the bandaging.
Shrugging lightly, he took a few steps towards her and threw his hand out to show he didn't mean any harm. Javi didn't have another chair so he took a seat on the cement floor and kept his distance just in case she did try to pull something. "I don't want you to make it worse, you're pretty banged up as it is"
Most of the injuries that she could ever recall were ones that she had suffered from doing stupid things with her brothers. This was taking it to a whole new level and Jessica still couldn't figure out how she got in this predicament. Besides the arm, she had cuts and bruises covering her face as well as her stomach from the nasty kicks she received earlier. The busted lip would heal eventually but the bruises near her cheek, nose, and eyes would take time which meant she had to hide out for a while.
Jessica didn't say a word to him and decided to keep quiet for the moment. The building was bringing in light and she was trying to determine if it were still morning or afternoon as she hadn't known when she passed out. Her elbow was killing her as the inflicting pain wouldn't stop throbbing.
"You want anything? Food, water, pain meds?" He asked keeping his eyes on her.
"Pain medication sounds nice right now" She said softly but bit her lip when she shifted a little in the chair. "Can I go to the bathroom?"
"If you promise that you aren't going to take off. I want this to be over as much as you do"
Even though Jessica didn't believe him, Javi was ready to go back to Arizona. All he wanted was the money and he would have been out in heartbeat. Smurf only complicated things as he thought it would have gone smoothly once he had Jessica. The Cody sister wasn't aware that she had actually called him earlier and told him that she'd meet him later in the day.
After agreeing to sentence, Jessica waited for Javi to untie her legs and guide her somewhere that she could have privacy for the time being. She didn't make an attempt to get away because she found out that trying to go to the bathroom with one arm was hard enough. Coming back out after her me time, Javi guided her back to the chair and proceeded to tie her back up but left her arms untied for obvious reasons. He was glad that she was finally cooperating but it was a shame he had to take it that far.
"You know what? You really screwed up by taking me" Jessica said which made him pause with the rope. "You should have grabbed the golden goose which is J. Smurf doesn't give a shit that I'm here but if it were J? She would have been here in a heartbeat"
Continuing with the tying, Javi didn't answer for a moment. "Smurf killed my Dad, kicked me out with nothing and I'm not concerned with what Cody I grab" It had been a lie but he didn't know if Jessica was even telling the truth. He knew that the relationship she had with Smurf wasn't great but he thought by taking it, that would lead to Baz convincing Smurf to get him what he wanted.
Jessica had blinked her eyes after his statement, glanced away from the ground to see him. "I thought you said your Dad ran away?"
"Yeah well, that's what I thought until Manny told me the truth years ago. When you and I were together that was the story. Now I know why he never came back because your Mother put a bullet in his head" She could hear his tone changing as he moved away from her.
Things were smooth when they were a couple for the most part. Jessica had been staying away from the family during that time as she had just got out of her first rehab trip. She had just turned twenty and even though Javi was a few years older, they still had a connection from when they were kids. The breakup was mutual as he was going back to Arizona and there hadn't been any bad blood between them until now.
She couldn't believe what he was saying and that had shaken her to her core. "She wouldn't have…She took care of you" Jessica was turning away from the thought as she didn't want to think Smurf would have done that. Javi was important to the family once upon a time.
"Oh come on Jessica, Smurf isn't a saint, you of all people should know that" Javi said shaking his head in disbelief. "She wouldn't even pay for you to go to college, you had to support yourself by stripping because she cut you off from job money. All of you have done everything she's wanted and anyone who goes against her, well you see how that ended for me. You and your brothers need to wake up. If you really think that Smurf wouldn't kill to protect herself, you've got another thing coming"
Everything that Javi had said was the exact truth whether she wanted to hear or even believe it. Javi wasn't blind to everything that Smurf would do. The Cody siblings may think differently about their Mother and they more than likely believe his story. The problem was that she was still their Mother underneath it all, no one would want to think that.
Jessica could feel tears form in her eyes and for once she didn't know why. Everything seemed to hit her again and the emotions were changing constantly. Scoffing out a huff, she wiped her eyes before any water would run. "Why me then? Why not just take her and break her arm? You didn't have to do this"
"You think I wanted to hurt you? The last thing I wanted was for all of you to look at me like I'm a monster but she gave me no choice" Anger was beginning to show again in his voice and it reminded Jessica to earlier at the family compound. "I just want my God damn money so I can show that she can't push me around as she does to all of you. She's screwed me over and I'm doing something about it. You're right, I didn't have to bring you here but I did"
His demeanor changed icy once again and Jessica took the option to stay quiet. She wasn't fearful of Javi but after what she had gone through, she was nervous about what he would still be capable of doing. Feeling his phone buzz in his jacket, he pulled it out to check a text message that popped up. Taking a deep breath and huffing loudly, he looked back at her.
"Time to get going princess, it's time to hand you back over"
After Baz had coughed up the money that Smurf was missing, she had set out in order to get her daughter home. He had taken upon himself to go with her for two reasons. One of them was someone needed to be there for Smurf just in case something went down and the second was for the more obvious reason. Jessica and Baz had yet to put a title on their relationship but they knew they had something going and he wasn't going to let that slip away.
"Are you sure he's going to take the money?" Baz had asked driving up a hill in the middle of the desert. He wasn't even sure if he was going the right but Smurf told him to keep going.
"I don't see why he wouldn't, that's how this whole mess started" Smurf responded calmly while staring out the passenger seat. The situation was ready to go down once the rest of the boys had dug up Javi's Dad's body and retrieved the gun. She was ready for all of this to be over.
Spotting a van in the distance, he knew it was the right location that she had been talking about. Stopping the car at the mouth of the empty field, Baz turned to Smurf to see her plan of action but she already had the door open. He had adjusted his gun in his waistband before following her lead. Smurf was carrying a large duffle bag and when she saw the men, she spotted Javi behind her sunglasses. Dropping the bag to her feet, she had glanced over her shoulder to see if Baz was there or not.
"Where is she?" Smurf questioned seeing two men and Jessica nowhere is sight.
Javi had been standing there with his hands in his pockets before taking a few steps backward. Heading to the back doors of the van, he opened them and motioned for the Cody sister to come forward. Having trouble getting out of it, Javi helped her until she got her feet on the ground. Jessica agreed to remain calm until it was over and she'd do whatever he said. Pushing her forward lightly, he wanted to tie her back up just in case but he couldn't do that with her broken elbow.
When Jessica came into view, Smurf's face hadn't changed and she kept the same expression on her face in order to seem unreadable. Squinting her blue-grey eyes, Jessica saw her had felt a rush of relief wash over her. She wasn't sure if her mother was really going to show considering how things had already gone. When she saw Baz standing there, Jessica wanted to move as fast as she could do him but Javi had already grabbed her shoulder to stop her from making any kind of movement. Baz could feel his anger rise again when he stepped in strides towards Smurf's side but he knew he had to stop himself. He had never seen her in that condition before and that set him off.
"You okay?" He called out to her as Javi stopped her feet away from Smurf and stood at Jessica's side.
Nodding faintly, Jessica wanted to smile but didn't feel up to it. She noticed the way he was staring at her so she looked away for the time being.
"It's a shame things had to get like this…Is all the money in there?" Javi asked and Smurf reached for it and threw it at his feet.
"You can count it if you'd like" She responded with simply as he reached for the bag. Unzipping it, he checked the contents before standing back up to face her. Silence had filled the air as everyone kept looking between one another. "You got your money so give me back my daughter and we call it even"
Javi scoffed at her words. "You owe me a lot more than money. You owe me all the years that I had no parents, how I lived out on the street, you threw me out as if I were garbage"
Smirking at him, Smurf knew that speech was never going to end. "You're just like your father, you know that? Impulsive, hard-headed and a big cry baby. He couldn't do jobs right and he couldn't keep his greedy hands out of the money that belonged to us. I did you a favor Javi, he would have watched you turn out just like him and kicked you to the curb"
Jessica turned her head faintly to see Javi's reaction while taking a faint step back. She watched his hands tremble out of anger and wanted to step away for protection. Seeing him reach for the gun in his back waistband, she went to say something once he pointed the gun at Smurf. What happened next was a shock that no one saw coming except for two people. A shot had rung out which made Jessica gasp loudly and flinch until she watched Javi's body fall to the dirt ground. Looking at her right shoulder, he saw a spot of blood on her that were fresh.
Smurf stood there without even flinching as she had everything worked on from the second they arrived. Baz's mouth popped open as well as not expecting things to end the way they did. He rubbed his face for a minute before walking forward in order to pull Jessica away from the scene. She could feel a cry ready escape her throat but wanted to get out of there more than anything. Grabbing her around the waist gently, Baz started pulling her towards Smurf's SUV. Jumping inside the driver's seat again, he stared at Smurf through the windshield.
After making the rest of the deal with one of Javi's men, Smurf strutted back to the car and hopped inside. Baz hardly waited for her to even close the door as he sped off still trying to comprehend what exactly happened. The drive was quiet for the most part with Jessica's sobs in the backseat though she was trying to remain silent. Tears had streamed down her face in a mix of emotions which made Baz stop the car hard and she caught herself with her free hand. Jumping out, he walked in front of the car with his hands behind his head.
Smurf looked behind her to see her daughter before getting out of the vehicle as well. She didn't bother closing her door either as she walked over to him. Baz didn't want to face her but he had no choice to. "What the hell was that? He was going to take the money Smurf!"
"Oh really? Do you think a guy like that just cares about the money? He beats the shit out of J, kidnaps Nicky and Jessica, snaps her arm in half and wanted to kill me because of his Father. He wasn't going to just take the money Baz, you and I both know that"
"Javi was like family to us, we grew up with that kid. Are you kidding me?"
"And like family isn't family" Smurf said once they were face to face. Baz shook his head slowly and took his eyes off of her after hearing what she said. He and Smurf had been going at it for quite some time and he felt that was a jab at him. Smurf reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. "Listen to me, you are family, he wasn't"
Jessica was trying her best to listen to their conversation as she only heard Baz yelling at Smurf. She wondered what was going on out there, so she took it upon herself to lean forward and honk the horn. Both had turned their attention back to the SUV and made their way back. Baz got in first which made Jessica jump back into the middle of the seats.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Turning around in the seat to see her, Baz looked her over to study what she must have been feeling.
"Do I look it?" She told him back still not wanting to look him in the eye. Once Smurf got back into her seat as well, she also glanced at her daughter. Leaning forward, she reached for Jessica who was still leaning faintly forward. Kissing her on top of the head, Smurf smiled at her and that made Jessica go back into her seat.
After starting the car back up, Smurf had told them that they were meeting the rest of the family at the beach up on a clifftop. Pope had been there along with Deran, Craig, and J who were burning all of Manny's things. On top of it, the eldest was taking care of the bones so that there wasn't any evidence tracing back to Smurf. Following her orders, Baz went to the location that the Cody family was already at.
When the SUV approached, all of the boys had turned their attention to it. Baz was out first in order to help Jessica get out of the car since she couldn't use her right arm whatsoever. All of them had waited to see how she was considering they were all there for the phone call. Taking a glance at all of them, Jessica still wanted to keep her head low.
Pope had been the closest to the car and he stepped over in her direction. He wore black gloves which were covered in all sorts of things so he hadn't made any attempt to touch her. "Are you alright?"
Answering him with another nod, she was nearly knocked over when Craig came over to hug her. Jessica yelped from him hitting her elbow which made Pope hit his shoulder hard. "Watch her arm!"
Craig backed away quickly forgetting for a split second. "Jesus, sorry. I forgot all about it. How…How is it? I'm sorry Jessica, I should have known better"
"Getting a baseball bat to the elbow isn't exactly my kind of fun…You're okay as long as you don't tackle me again" Jessica told him trying to lift her own spirits as well as the tension.
Deran was sitting over by J on the bench before he got up and walked towards his older sister. Part of him didn't even want to say anything because he felt guilty for not being there to protect her. He also held anger at Smurf for not getting the money sooner. Jessica could feel him staring and knew that most of them were because of her face. Clearing her throat, Deran ruffled his hair for a moment. She held her left arm out for a hug which he accepted. While hugging him, she smiled a little at J who was still sitting there due to his leg.
"Where's the gun?" Smurf requested not saying a word to anyone except Pope. He looked away from his sister and pointed over towards the bench. She walked over there, tucked her hand within her sleeve and grabbed it. Tossing it into the ocean, Smurf watched proudly as the boys came through and this problem was behind her.
Deran and Craig also went back over to the bench with the younger sitting back down and Craig getting Smurf a beer from the cooler. Pope continued with burning the evidence and stayed in his own world once more. Jessica moved over to the side of the cliff with Baz in tow still making sure she was alright. He slipped his jacket off and put it around her shoulders after she mentioned that she was cold.
Smurf moved over to the cooler and grabbed another beer out, walked over to them and handed it out to Baz. He knew that she wasn't going to tell any of them about what really happened with Javi as they would have jumped down her back because of it. It was going to be a secret between Smurf, Baz, and Jessica.
Looking her over, he knew she was trying to make some sort of peace offering but he didn't want it. Baz was still angry over her actions and wasn't concerned about her. His primary target was Jessica because she needed help even though she hadn't said anything. Baz stood on her left side, placed his arm around her but was careful not to hit her arm. Jessica had tensed up for a second before getting used to his touch. She snuggled against him while staring at the fire that Pope just made after throwing a pile of clothes into a metal barrel. Smurf watched them avoid her gaze, Baz would hardly even look at her. For now, she knew the Javi situation was done…But the one at home was just starting.