“You guys need to leave, now,” I said sternly, trying not to show just how nervous I was. “I’m serious. Get out of my house.”
“Harry,” Paulie said, snapping his fingers at the large woman.
She stomped over to me, grabbed me by the back of the neck, and leaned me backward so I knew it was time for me to listen. Paulie grabbed a napkin from the table, and as he wiped his mouth, he chuckled and walked over to me. He pulled his face in close to mine and yanked at my arms, twisted behind my back.
“The cops are going to be here really soon,” he whispered, running his hand down my face. “You are going to agree with everything that they say, and you are not going to mention that we were here. If you don’t agree with the cops, or you tell them anything about this little business, then I will kill your precious father. I am done playing these bullshit games.”
Paulie stepped forward again, and I could smell the whiskey on his breath. I turned my head to the side and closed my eyes as he grabbed my breasts and squeezed them. He looked at me and ran his finger down my cheek, clicking his tongue. I felt absolutely disgusting, and I just wanted to make him leave my house.
“You should really think about your choices,” he whispered. “When you do, remember that there are worse things that could happen outside the prison. Stay straight with the story because there are a lot scarier things that could happen to you if you don’t go to jail and take the fall for this.”
Paulie nodded his head at Harry, and she dropped me, pushing me forward onto the floor. I sat there, watching as he walked out the door and into the street. I felt completely helpless and dirty, and the fear had bubbled back up into my stomach. I didn’t know what my father had gotten us into, but it seemed to be really bad. This time around, they were making house calls, which meant that they were serious about everything. Just as my life had started to get simple, this bomb was dropped on me. Only this time, I hadn’t seen it coming at all.
Chapter 17
Blaine
Although I couldn’t be with Josie tonight, supporting her through this difficult time in her life, I knew that I could at least sit back and relax, enjoy a glass of wine, and celebrate my first few days at the office. I hadn’t heard from Josie all evening, so it was surprising to me when my phone went off and her face popped up. I grabbed it, assuming since she never called me, it must be somewhat important. When I put the phone to my ear, I could hear Josie crying and saying something to her father. My heart sank, realizing something bad must have happened.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Blaine,” she said, panicked. “Oh, God. Everything is such a mess.”
“Take a deep breath,” I said, trying to understand her through her sobs. “Tell me what happened.”
“These two people came to the house,” she said after breathing deeply. “It was a man and a woman, and they threatened me. I really don’t know what’s going on. I feel completely disoriented.”
“Everything is going to be okay, just take a deep breath,” I told her. “There is nothing that we can’t handle together. Tell me everything that happened.”
“Well,” she said, sniffling. “They said that my dad owed them a lot of money, but that they didn’t want money to pay off his debt anymore. Instead, they had another idea, and it involves me. It was terrible. The woman put me in a choke hold, and the guy groped on me, telling me I better go along with it. I don’t know what to say or do.”
As soon as I heard her say that he was planning something else and it included her, my mind instantly went to a dark place, imagining what kind of terrible things could be done to my sweet, innocent Josie. I was so angry that the wine glass I was holding shattered instantly in my hand. I groaned as blood began to seep out and drip on the hardwood floors. I shook the excess glass from my hand and sat there for a moment, trying to put together the jagged pieces of the puzzle that Josie just handed me. Her father had really gone and done it this time, not only putting himself in danger, but dragging Josie along for the ride. I knew I should have gone over there. I just didn’t want to overstep my boundaries, and I wanted Josie to make her own decisions. Whoever these clowns were that put their hands on my girlfriend, they had some kind of diabolical plan, but I couldn’t quite see what was coming.
I stood up from the couch, with Josie still on the other end of the phone that was stuck between my shoulder and my ear. I walked over to the sink and started to clean the glass out of my bloody hand. I winced each time I pulled a piece out, letting the water run over the bleeding wounds. As the glass fell into the sink, I could hear sirens on the other end of the line. Josie’s breath quickened, but I figured that she had called them after the people had busted into her house. It was a good thing she was getting the cops involved. She didn’t need to handle any of this on her own.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The police are here,” she said, sobbing.
I wasn’t sure why she was so upset about the cops, but at least she would get to make a report, and maybe they would do something to keep her safe while they looked for these assholes. She had been through a lot, and I really wanted to go there and be with her. I thought, though, it might better to wait until after she had dealt with the cops. These things were confusing enough without adding another face to the picture. I wasn’t there, and although that pissed me off to no end, there was nothing I could do to help the cops. I figured I would just be in the way if I showed up while they were there. Josie was tough, and I knew she could handle this. I had complete faith in her abilities.
However, as I watched the blood from my hand, I began to hear shouting on the other end. At first, it was muffled, but then, as the phone fell from Josie’s ear and hit the floor, the voices became more clear. There was way more than one or two cops there, and they were shouting for Josie to get on the floor and put her hands over her head. There was a bang that sounded like someone slamming a door shut, and the officer started to read Josie her Miranda rights. Immediately, I grabbed the towel from the edge of the sink, wrapping it tightly around my hand. Nerves shot through my stomach, and I ran through the house, throwing my shoes on and grabbing my car keys. I left the house and jumped in the car, speeding out of the neighborhood.
Josie had just called me, telling me she was attacked, but for some reason, the police were arresting her. Nothing was making sense, but I knew I had to get to her as fast as I possibly could. As I drove along, the houses passed by me in a blur, and the realization that my girlfriend was going into police custody hit me hard. She was the sweetest and kindest person I knew. There was no way she’d committed any crime that would warrant the police bursting into the house and arresting her like that. I couldn’t even imagine how terrified Josie was at that moment.
When I got to the house, I parked down the block, allowing space from the police. The entire area was already taped off, and it was crawling with cops. It looked like a murder scene, only there was no body and no cr
iminal. I pushed through the crowd and up to the tape, reaching down to lift it and go under. A police officer stepped forward and put his hand up.
“I’m sorry sir, you can’t go past the tape,” he said in a deep voice.
“I’m the family lawyer,” I argued.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he said. “This is a police crime scene now. No one is allowed past the tape.”
A crime scene? My mind began to swirl. Immediately, I was terrified that something had happened to Josie. I scanned the area, looking everywhere for her, but she wasn’t standing outside. I had been on the phone with her when the cops arrived, so unless one of them killed her, she had to be inside with the police. I nodded at the cop and moved back, walking toward the front of the sectioned off area. There were several officers standing around the trashcans, and one of the officers held what looked to be a large knife that I had never seen before. There was dried blood on the blade, and they were obviously logging it into evidence. What did a butcher knife in a trash can and two obvious mobsters have to do with Josie, or her dad for that matter?
I stood there for several moments before two police offers walked out of the door, followed by Josie with her hands handcuffed behind her back. One of the other cops had a firm grip on her arm and was leading her toward his squad car. I didn’t know what to do, but I wanted Josie to know that I was there. I reached my hand up in the air and began to wave it.