SAFEHOUSE

I stood quietly, aiming the gun toward the entry to the seller. It would be hard to tell who was coming in, and I would wait until I could see them… I just hoped I wouldn’t make a mistake.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time that I had no time to process any of it. All I knew was protecting my son was my only option.

There was more yelling going on outside, somewhere not too far off. Another shot rang out, this time much too close for comfort. I shuddered, the noise catching me off guard again. I closed my eyes, saying a little prayer.

Silence...

Minutes passed, and I heard nothing. Hadn’t Julien said that he had called for the authorities when he was here? What was taking them so long?

For the first time since I’d lived there, I regretted living so far from a bigger town.

I stood up after a few more minutes passed, my leg shaking under my weight. The baby turned over within me, jutting out one of his legs and making me wince in pain.

“Be careful, baby boy. You’re being too rough on me.”

I didn’t want to get any closer to the store, but it had been so long… I just wanted to know what was going on.

I debated with myself on whether or not to open the door. It was so hard not knowing what was going on. If they knew where I was why weren’t they coming? And what was holding back Julien and Gervaise? I felt more alone than ever…

I bit my lip, finally deciding that I had to know one way or the other what was going on.

I climbed the steps leading up to the door, hoping that it would easily open without me having to make much noise. I pushed my hands up over my head and felt it push up, the metal cold in my hands. I waited until I could see a few inches above ground in front of me and to both sides of me, where I saw nothing but grass.

I slowly inched my way out, finally stepping outside of the seller, the gun slipping in my palm sweaty palm clammy palm. I wiped the back of my hands and my palms against my shirt, shaking still. I didn’t like holding the gun, but I did have to admit that I felt safer behind it.

I made my way to the edge of the corner of the house, right where someone had shot at Gervaise. I didn’t want to look around the corner but I knew I had to in order to move. I hope I didn’t see anyone lying on the ground dead.

When I turned the corner ever so slightly I noticed someone was facing away from me, about fifty feet away.

From the back I could see that it was a bald man, someone very tall and wearing a clean cut dark gray suit. I immediately held my gun out.

As if I had announced my presence, the man turned around and I was stunned, nearly dropping my gun to the ground when I caught sight of him.

It was the man who almost shot me. The man from the hotel…

It was just at that time that I saw he was holding a thick rope in his hands, looking as though he was ready to tie something up. That something possibly being me.

I stumbled backwards as he advanced towards me, a weird look on his face almost as if he enjoyed stalking me. He eyed my belly, but it did not deter him. What a bastard.

The grim smile he gave me sent a chill down to my very bones, but I wasn’t going to run away this time.

“Don’t get any closer to me, I swear to God I will shoot you right there.” My words sounded far away in my head, but I knew that I had said them out loud when the man smirked at me.

“You ain’t gonna do shit. Except maybe shut your damn mouth.”

His words rattled me, but I didn’t let it show. He wasn’t about to intimidate me.

“I said don’t get any closer. This is the last time I’m going to tell you.”

It was as if something had taken over me, a feeling older than time itself. I realized why I felt so brave… It was the baby. Wanting to protect him with my very life. Because I was his mother.

The man rolled his eyes at me, shaking his head. “Yeah, yeah. Drop the fucking gun and maybe I’ll let your baby live. Do you know who I fucking am? I’m the new head of the Five Families. I put a bullet in Angelo Verdicci and I’ll put a bullet in you and your fucking Frenchman if you don’t drop that fucking gun.”

I pulled the trigger hard… Hard enough that it drew my aim upward and to the left. I shot the man in his shoulder, barely grazing him.

He looked surprised as I corrected my mistake, firing a second and third time. He fell. I rolled myself around the corner, just in case he had a chance to pull his gun out, but there was nothing. Silence.

All I could think about was how this was the part in the movies where people double-checked to make sure the person was dead, and then ended up getting shot. I stood there, not moving. The gun was still shaking in my hands, but I was ready for the next guy in case he came looking for his friend.