Thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry it took longer than usual. I've ended a story, sniffles, and started a new one, so I got sidetracked! BUT - Not need to fear, I'm back on track! So here it is, enjoy!! And dun dun dun, BIG drama is coming up soon, so watch out!
The whole way to the Casino where Damien had sent us, I thought about Emilie. Inside I knew why we were going to find these guys but it still didn't seem real to me. But the closer we got, the more nervous I became. We were going after the guys that shot our mother. The guys that could have killed Emilie if she hadn't been in the bathroom. And now, I knew, we were going to kill them. There was no doubt about it. But that was dangerous. One of us could get hurt. One of us could die. Part of me felt selfish for putting myself in this situation, knowing that if anything happened to me, or any of us for that matter, Emilie would be crushed. She'd loose another person. And I felt guilty for that. But at the same time, these guys killed my mother, and again, could have killed Emilie. No amount of guilt can change what they did and what we need to do. None.
"Goatee. Goatee. Look for the man with the goatee." Angel said as we walked into the restaurant. We stood at the entrance and looked around. My eyes scanned the room and landed on two guys at the bar. One was flirting with the bartender and guess what? He had a goatee.
"There he is." I said nudging Bobby.
"Where?" he asked looking in the direction of my gaze.
"Right there. The guy with the goatee." I raised my voice and my hand, just slightly tired of this night and wanting it to end.
"I see. Put your fucking hand down, Jackie!" Bobby said slapping my arm down. I saw the other guy point over at us and the guy the with the goatee met our gaze.
"I see him. I see him. Come on. Let's get him." Bobby said and started for his gun. But before hr got to it, the guys had theirs out and fired.
"Get down!" Bobby yelled.
"Damn!" I mumbled as Bobby started pushing us to follow the guys out, who were heading to the side door.
"Go, go, go!" Bobby yelled as we ran down the side of the bar.
"Run, y'all!" Angel yelled. "Move!"
"Everybody move!" Bobby yelled to the people who were not moving from the aisle way. "Go, go."
"Clear the way." Angel growled shoving a guy to the side.
"Excuse me." I mumbled, not knowing why I was being so polite but hoping they'd move if I was.
"Move! Come on! Come on!" Bobby screamed when one guy grabbed him and wouldn't let go.
"Go ahead, you fucking punks!" the guy yelled when Bobby finally got free. We all three barreled out the door and I pulled out the shot gun. I fired at the rear end of the car as it drove off.
"Get it, Jackie-o!" Bobby yelled running up behind me as I let my third shot sound. "You go, girl! Let's get these mother fuckers." He said and took off for the car.
I jumped in the back and Angel hopped up front and barely got his door shut when Bobby sped off. Bobby sped off down the street after the car, snow nearly blinding us as we drove.
"Punch it, Bobby! Punch it!" Angel yelled as we slowly lost view of the car in front of us.
"I got no traction! I'm sliding all over the fucking street!" Bobby yelled at him. We were already sliding all over the place when the car made a sharp turn. Bobby tried to slow down before we turned but the car slide sideways into a couple parked cars.
"Hold on! Shit! Shit!" he yelled as he tried to pull back onto the street but ended up scraping down the row of parked cars even more. "I scraped the whole side of my fucking car!" he whined when he finally got away and looked out his window. So he was more worried about his car, just great.
"Get these guys before you kill us!" I yelled at him from the backseat.
"Sit back and put your seat belt on, Jack." he ordered me.
"Watch the snow, man!" Angel yelled as bobby sped off down the streets again, only gaining control over the car just a little.
"I don't give a fuck about the snow!" Bobby yelled. All of a sudden shots were heard and a two bullets bolted through the front of the car windshield. I ducked and Bobby swerved.
"Shit!" Bobby yelled looking back at me. "Where the hell's that shotgun, Jack?" he asked. I grabbed the gun and checked the chamber and cursed.
"There's no shells." I yelled throwing the gun down.
"Stop arguing and drive." Angel yelled at us when Bobby turned around to look at me.
"They're in the trunk." he yelled.
"What the hell am I--?" I started, wondering how in the hell he expected me to get in the trunk and get the shells.
"Sit down and shut up!" He screamed and picked up his gun from the floorboard. "Angel, stick that cannon out the window and bust some shots!"
"I'm gonna put one in the back of their heads!" Angel said throwing his arm out the window and firing.
"Shoot those sons of bitches, Angel!" Bobby cheered him on. Angel fired and kept his head back as the sparks came out the back. "Get them! Shoot that motherfucker!" Bobby kept yelling. Angel kept firing and soon the car in front swerved and Angel stopped.
"You got him!" Bobby shrieked. I watched the car in front of us swerve and eventually hit a snow bank and slide sideways.
"Look out! Jackie, you got your seat belt on?" Bobby said warned me. "Watch this. Hold on." he yelled as he plowed into the rear end of the car, turning it around and sending us into the street spinning.
"Oh, shit!" he yelled as we spun. We finally stopped and we saw the other car starting to drive away again. "Shit!" he yelled and sped off after them
"Don't let them get away! Don't let them get away!" I yelled from the back. Bobby tried to catch up with them and they started firing again.
"Shit!" Bobby cursed feeling the shots hit the car.
"I'm over this shit!" Angel growled and leaned out the window to get a better show at them. My mind raced. I wasn't worried about Sofi going all crazy on us for letting Angel do this, it was Emilie I was afraid of. Sure he was a Marine but she was still not too fond of any of us putting ourselves in dangerous situations. Especially hanging out the window of a car, skidding across the snow, while firing at a car in front of us, firing back and also skidding across the snow. This is a good way to get killed even if we survived this joy ride
"Pop them, Angel! Pop them!" Bobby chanted. The car must have hit something because it jerked and nearly sent angel flying out the window.
"Whoa! Whoa!" I yelled. frantically grabbing his arm to pull him as Bobby grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Get them! Angel, get your ass in here!" he yelled. We felt another jerk and I saw sparks by Bobby's window. We looked out and guess what?
"Shit! We got a fucking blowout!" Bobby cursed looking at his front tire. This was enough. Angel nearly fell out the window. We lost a tire. One more wrong move and we could be dead.
"Bobby, let's just stop the car! Okay, Bobby? Let's stop!" I yelled from behind him.
"Shut up, Jack! I'm gonna ride this bitch out on the rim! We got them!" he yelled, not wanting to give up now, which I understood. If we let them go now, we might not get them. But risking our lives? This was nuts. But he kept driving, as sparks flew past his window. The screeching of the metal on the road and the howling of the wind rushing through the window and my ears. We crossed over a bridge and Bobby finally got closer.
"Ready?" he asked getting closer to their bumper. " Hold on. Hold on. I got them now. I got them." he mumbled trying to get a little in front of their bumper.
"We got them now. We got them." He kept yelling and caught up to their rear end. "Hold on!" he yelled and jerked the wheel to the left, smashing into the side of the car.
"Get them! Get them!" me and Angel cheered, as the car was sent flying sideways.
"Hold on!" Bobby yelled one last time. He jerked the wheel again and we smashed into the side of the car and sent it flipping over a few times.
"Yeah! Yeah!" I cheered as the car rolled in front of us.
"Wooo!" Angel hollered.
"Whoa! Yeah!" Bobby laughed and drove a few feet further to the car.
"That's what the fuck I'm talking about, Bobby." Angel laughed and smacked his arm playfully. Bobby stopped the car and we all jumped out. Angel and Bobby drew their guns as we walked to the car.
"Jack, you wait here." Bobby order and I stopped. I watched them walk to the car, gun in hands, yelling that the men.
"Get your punk ass out the car." Angel yelled as Bobby went to kicking the guy that was trying to crawl away.
"Fuck you!" one of the guy sputtered.
"Who sent you?" Angel demanded.
"I ain't telling you shit!" the guy yelled. Angel started kicking him too. I watched as my brother's kicked the living shit out of these guys.
"Get his wallet." Bobby told Angel.
"You fucked with the wrong lady." Angel growled. Both raised their guns and fired one shot each. And I stood in shock as the yelling of the men stopped and all I heard was the howling wind and my brothers walking back to me.
"Let's get the fuck out of here, man." Angel yelled running to the car.
"Let's go Jack! Come on." Bobby said tugging at my jacket.
"Are they dead?" I asked turning around to get back into the car.
"Yeah, they gone!" Angel cheered
"They killed Mom. We got them." Bobby assured me as we jumped back into his car and drove off. We didn't say a word as Bobby drove off to find a place to dump the car.
Apparently, he knew somebody who had a shop and he let us drop it off in the back of the garage. Angel and Bobby ended up catching a ride with him back to the house but I opted for the bus. I was making a tiny detour.
I slid the tiny key out my back pocket and unlocked her apartment. I opened the door and slowly shut it, looking at the clock.
2:36am.
I laid the key on the counter and took my jacket and shoes off. I was about to walk into the hallway when something moved on the couch.
"Jackie?" she mumbled sitting up on the couch. I smirked and walked over to the front of the couch. She sat up on her elbows waiting for her eyes to adjust. Her hair slightly sticking out and the blankets barely covering her exposed legs.
"Hey, Em." I whispered sitting next to her on the couch. She laid her head back down and looked up at me.
"You okay?" she asked. I thought about it for a second and smiled.
"I am now. You wanna go to bed?" I asked. She nodded and I scooped her up into my arms. Usually, she complained but tonight she simply let me carry her into the room and lay her on the bed. She instantly curled under the bed as I stripped off my shirt and jeans. I lifted the covers up so I could get in and laid down next to her. She moved closer and laid her head on my shoulder, tracing the tattoo's on my chest.
"Tell me what's going on. I wanna know. Jerry told me what happened up until he left." she whispered. I sighed and rubbed circles on her back.
"We talked to Damien, the witness. Two guys paid him to say that he saw the gang bangers run in there. They were hired to kill Ma." I told her softly.
"By who?" she asked.
"Not sure yet." I whispered. She moved up on her elbow and looked at me.
"Yet? Yet as in, you're going to?" she asked. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"Yes." I answered, figuring it best not to lie to her. She was silent for a moment, probably shocked that I was honest.
"What happened to the shooters, Jack?" she asked so softly I barely heard her. I looked at her and the sadness shown on her face. The mixed feelings of wanting to know and not wanting to know. This time I figured it best not to say anything.
"Let's just go to sleep." I told her. She kept staring at me and I knew she knew. She knew what happened to them, she knew we killed them. She even knew, that I knew, that she knew what happened and knowing that, she knew nothing else needed to be said.
And nothing was said, as she curled into my arm and fell asleep.
Today was the second day in a row Bobby ruined our morning. I was sighing contently, loving the feeling of being on cloud nine, as Jack slowly moved his lips up the side my neck and to the soft spot under my ear when my cell started ringing. We ignored it the firs time but when both of our phones went off Jack reluctantly pulled away. So both of us were already in a bad mood when we got there, me more so than Jack. Jack found a way to take my mind off of him going after this drama but Bobby and Angel couldn't do what Jack did, so they surely will suffer my wrath.
"You're such a pussy, Bobby." Sofi mumbled when Bobby jerked his arm away while she was cleaning it. Supposedly, he'd gotten attacked by dogs.
"Give me a break, will ya?" he groaned.
"It should be against the law for people to keep dogs where someone like you can get to them." Sofi ranted. He rolled his eyes and then glared at me.
"Why'd you let her do this? You could have done it better." he whined. I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe behind Angel.
"I wanted to see her torture you." I told him roughly. Angel chuckled and walked away.
"Hey, y'all! Police in the house!" Angel yelled a few minutes later. I rolled my eyes and moved into the living room as everyone scurried around. Why do they put themselves through this?
"Get me something to cover my arm." Bobby ordered Sofi.
"Yeah, yeah." she mumbled running off.
"Hurry up." he hissed.
"Angel. Mind if we come in?" Green asked walking into the kitchen as Bobby sat on the couch, clad in her pink printed robe. That woman needs help. We are trying to take attention away from him, not bring it all to him.
"You're already in. Cops are always welcome at the Mercers'. It makes us feel safe and cozy. Just the way we like it." I heard Angel tell him and I laughed on the inside.
"Whoo. Ain't you sexy?" Green laughed looking at Bobby.
"Thank you." Bobby said getting up. "Jackie wanted this little number for himself, but I fought him for it." he told him. I suppressed the urge to get up and slap him but stopped myself. Today was not a good day.
"What happened to the hand?" Green asked pointing to Bobby's hand. I looked at it and groaned. The woman can't do shit right. I sent her a glare and she returned it. She's really pushing her luck today.
"Did you happen to forget our little conversation we had at your brother's house about not interfering with our investigation?" Green finished, as Jack stood claim next to me.
"Oh, no, no. This is Turkey Cup, man. Hockey. An old Mercer family tradition. You remember that, don't you, Green? You played hockey. Guys can be pretty rough out on that ice." Bobby explained smirking at Green.
"Where's you car, Bobby? It's not outside." Green asked. Bobby faltered a bit and then the last person I thought would speak up to save him, did just that. Now I just hoped that she didn't spit something stupid out, like she always did.
"We left it at Jeremiah's." Sofi spoke up. I let out a sigh of relief, maybe I should give her more credit. That thought was trashed when she sent me a 'Beat that' look.
"Yeah. Jerry drove us home." Angel spoke up and walked next to Bobby. "You know, Volvos are one of the safest cars out there. Volvos are incredible, man, when it's a blizzard outside. So we-" Angel was cut off.
"Fascinating." Fowler said walking towards Bobby, pulling a tiny bag out of his coat. "Hey, Gretzky, you know what this is?" he asked holding it up. I couldn't really see it but Bobby's next comment told me what I needed to know.
"A hair from your wife's tit?" Bobby asked.
"Try from your thick skull. Forensics took it off a pair of contract killers we found dead this morning." Fowler told him.
Now, let me explain this, cause it might be odd. I knew what went down last night. I didn't need anyone to tell me but I knew. The look on Jack's face, the vibe he had, said it all for me. But knowing and actually hearing and having the police say it, was totally different for me. And that statement sent chills up my spine. They actually killed someone.
"Fishing for a confession with a phony hair, huh? That's an old one, boys." Bobby said smirking at Green, who was also smirking. He patted Fowler's back knowing that it wouldn't work.
"Come on, Green." Bobby said sitting back down on the couch. "You know when I'll know you got my hair off a dead body, right? When I hear the jailhouse doors close behind me, girls." he told them.
"Okay, then you tell me what they told you. You think that these thugs were hired to kill Evelyn, is that it?" Green asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Green." Bobby sighed picking at something on the robe.
"Wait, Green, how do you go from petty thug to contract killer? And if they were professional shooters, like you say, they'd have never told us who they was working with anyway. Even if they got one hell of an ass whipping." Angel asked, calling them out.
"You think you're pretty cute, don't you? He does." Fowler looked over at Green and started walking over to Angel. "Everybody's a smart guy until I bust them in the mouth." he threatened. Angel jumped up, Jack and Sofi tried to grab Angel and Green grabbed Fowler.
"Wait!" Green yelled at them.
"You gonna bust me in my mouth?" Angel growled.
"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on, hold on. This ain't what I'm here for!" Green yelled louder, trying to stop the impending fight.
"The fuck you think this is?" Angel asked Fowler.
"Hey, stop!" I yelled. Everyone looked over at me and Green nodded at me, a silent thank you.
"Look, Bobby, if you got something, you give it to me. And if it's something vital, we will run with this. But don't try and take on Detroit by your damn self. You keep knocking on the devil's door long enough, and sooner or later, somebody gonna answer you." Green said his short speech and left. The room was silent as they left and before anyone could try to crack a joke about the almost fight or Bobby's crude joke, I spoke up.
"Ya know, he's right. You're going to get yourselves killed, acting stupid and all. It's fucking useless to be this way. I don't understand why ya'll can't see that now. And knowing you guys and your luck, you won't realize how much you fucked up until it's too late. Until one of you fucking dies!" I seethed and grabbed my keys. I stormed out the house ignoring the calls from Jack and Angel as I left.
I tried calling Emilie after she left but she kept hitting the end button. I called Paisley to see if she would check on her, but she was at work apparently. And Bobby was planning on going out again so I couldn't just leave again.
"What bastard hired these guys? West Marine's by the river, right?" Bobby asked Angel, looking at one of the guy's ID.
"Yeah." Angel nodded.
"Come on. Let's go take a look." Bobby said.
"All right." Angel said and stood up. He walked over to the door but was stopped by Sofi.
"Baby." he groaned, knowing what was coming.
"Now, sweetie, wasn't there a discussion about a dinner together? Because I seem to remember spending two hours in the kitchen." she asked him.
"We got some important shit to deal with, baby." Angel told her.
"She's so la vida loca." Bobby teased. I leaned against the frame and hid my laugh.
"Man, don't do that right now." Angel pleased, also knowing what was coming if Bobby started.
"Shut up, Bobby. Don't you start with that crap!" Sofi yelled at Bobby.
"Can y'all not go there?" Angel pleaded again.
"That's why you don't get a girlfriend." Bobby told him honestly.
"Don't go there, please." Angel pleaded once more as Sofi's face got redder.
"You know what? I want a girlfriend like you." Bobby joked as Angel held up a hand. As annoying as it was, it was funny as hell, seeing them fight. This house never got boring.
"Can we go?" Bobby asked finally before Sofi opened her mouth again.
"Angel. You said this time was gonna be different." she whined. Bobby sent me an amused glance and I chuckled. He always said this time would be different.
"Ai mami, you're breaking mi Corazon, chica." Bobby feigned covering his heart. "She's getting real comfortable here, huh? What are you doing? I thought you was a macho man. A tough guy." Bobby asked.
"You know, it's a real shame that little Jackie's the only one down to ride. Let's go, Jackie. Say goodbye to your big sister, Jackie. Let's go." Bobby told me and waved to Angel. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door. I smirked at Angel and followed Bobby.
"You gonna leave me too? I just need 15 minutes, man." Angel sighed as we walked out the door.
"She's addicted to what Angel's dick did." I sang as I closed the door. I followed Bobby out to the car a friend of his let us borrow and got into the passenger seat.
"So Em, was pissed earlier." he stated. I nodded and lit a cigarette. "You stay with her again last night?" he asked. I gave him a weary glance out the corner of my eye and nodded again.
"Yeah, it was late and she offered." I lied. He laughed out loud after that.
"You're kidding me, right?" he asked looking over at me.
"What? You don't think she'd ask me to stay?" I asked offended. He shook his head and laughed still.
"No, not that. Just that you think I don't have the slightest idea of what's going on." he told me. I looked over at him and sighed.
"How'd you guess?" I asked. He hit my arm and pulled over.
"Fairy, I didn't. I asked to see what you'd say. And you fell for it!" he yelled.
'Damnit.' I thought.
"So there is something going on?" he asked seriously.
"Kinda." I sighed. He hit me again and I groaned.
"Stop that." I yelled.
"Then spill." he demanded.
"I don't know. We haven't had time to really talk about it." I told him.
"Why would you need to rush into talking?" he asked curiously. I stayed quiet and he punched me again. "You slept with her didn't you?!" he yelled.
"Maybe, so what?" I confessed, getting annoyed as hell. He pulled back onto the road and glared out the window.
"She's not Lydia, Jack. Nor is she one of your groupies. You can't blow her off or use her for a good lay." he said softly a few minutes later.
"I know, Bobby. That's why I'm trying. She's not like any other girl I've been with. I won't hurt her again. It'll only hurt me too." I assured him. He nodded and kept quiet. He never really was much of a talker. We finally made it to one of the killer's houses and broke our way in.
"Check everything, Jackie. There's gotta be some shit around here that ties these guys to somebody else." Bobby told me as we rummaged through the house. He walked into one room and I walked into another. I lifted the paintings and sifted through drawers looking for anything. A few minutes later Bobby came in with a bag in tow.
"You dicking around in here? You find anything?" he asked flashing the light in my face. I held up the camera I had just found and shrugged my shoulders.
"A camera." I replied.
"Come on." he ordered and I threw the CD's down. We walked back to the car and Bobby drove off.
"You want me to drop you off at her place?" Bobby asked. I sighed and thought for a moment.
"No, I'll let her cool off." I mumbled and looked out the window.
I laid in bed for what seemed like hours. I came straight home after leaving Jack's house and stayed here all day, ignoring his calls. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to cool off. And by that night I was cooled off and wishing he was here. I tried to go to sleep but I couldn't. It was nearly 2am when I finally gave up. I jumped out of bed, clad in my pajama's, and walked into the living room to get my keys. I slipped my shoes on and headed for my car. The cool wind on my exposed skin made me sprint to my car. Part of me wanted to stay home and let him wonder about me, but the other part wanted to sleep. And without him, that wasn't happening.