Got the Life (A Nicki Sosebee Novel) (17 page)

“Were you not fuckin’ listening, bitch?  That’s a stupid idea.”

Nicki shrugged, trying not to let her fear show.  That gun was too close, and she wasn’t at an angle where she could even try to grab it.  “Just a suggestion.”  Man, where was Carlos when she needed him?  He’d already pulled this
guy’s psycho brother off her.  But s
he knew Carlos was no doubt back to his own part of the world, possibly involved in gang activities as Sean had suggested.

No, Nicki was on her own now, and appealing to Sterne’s logical side hadn’t worked.  She wasn’t ready to give up, though.  Sterne had resumed pacing back and forth, and Melissa was even more withdrawn.  “Look, you know I didn’t call the cops on you.  Just let me go.  You don’t want to add murder
or kidnapping
to the list of charges the police have against you, do you?  If you kill me, they’ll lock you away for a long time, even
if
I’m not anyone important.”

Sterne stopped pacing and seemed to consider her, but Nicki knew better when she saw the glint in his eye that wouldn’t go away.  Something was just not right about this guy.  “That’s if they know who did it.  Why would they even suspect me?”

He had a point there, and Nicki could bluff, but she imagined that in this case a bluff would be more dangerous than the truth.  She decided to just let it go.  Obviously, this guy wouldn’t listen to
anything resembling common sense
, so Nicki had to start thinking of another way out of this situation.  How could she distract him so that she could find a way to escape?  She knew she’d only have one chance.  If she fucked that up, she’d be as good as dead.

Sterne resumed pacing until someone rapped on the door.  Sterne stopped the exact second he heard it.  He glared at both women and held the gun barrel up to his lips to indicate they’d better stay quiet.  Nicki debated if she should yell, but again she sensed that Sterne had nothing to lose.

The person at the door knocked again.  Sterne took a deep breath and approached the table.  Melissa continued to stare at nothing, but his gaze alternated between the two women just the same.  His voice was barely above a whisper.  He hunched over so that Melissa had no choice but to look at him.  “You’re gonna answer the door and get rid of whoever’s there.  And not like you did with this fuckin’ bitch.”  Nicki was sure Melissa was afraid, but the woman hid it well.  “Got me?”

She nodded and stood.  Sterne stood behind the door, pointing the gun toward her, out of sight of the person at the door.  Melissa opened the door a crack and looked out.  She didn’t say anything, but Nicki heard a voice that sounded sweeter to her than any
other sound
she’d ever heard.  “By any chance, is Nicki Sosebee here?”

Chapter Twenty

I’LL BE DAMNED
.
  Sean had made it.  Even if she hadn’t put that man on a pedestal, he was her knight in a white t-shirt today.  She wanted to shout out at him, but she knew better.  Sterne would kill Melissa, Nicki, Sean, or even try for all three if Nicki was stupid enough to do that.  Right now, Sean’s best chance was putting two and two together.  Nicki’s car was outside and
, now that Sean was here,
he
knew it.

Melissa didn’t know what to say.
  She was the proverbial doe in the headlights, scared, pumped full of adrenaline, and paralyzed.  There was no “fight or flight” in this woman.  She was frozen.  After what seemed like hours, though, Melissa managed to swallow whatever fictional lump in her throat had stopped her from being able to speak.  Her voice squeaked, but she said, “Uh, Nicki who?”

From Nicki’s vantage point, she could see that Sterne’s neck was turning red.  She didn’t know what that meant, but she
had her ideas about
th
is
guy
.  She imagined he
was like one of those old-time thermometers in cartoons, the ones where—once heat was applied—the red flowed
straight up
in a rush and then burst out of the top, shattering the glass.
 
Volatile
was too mild a word for the guy.

Sterne pulled Melissa away from the door and slammed it.  He shoved her back and stuck the gun out.  His voice was low as he hissed, “Both of you, get over there!”  His gun pointed toward the other end of the kitchen, near the doorway to the living room.  “You say one word and someone will die.”

Both women complied as
Sterne
opened the door
. 
He held his gun in his left hand, just behind the door, ready for use.  Sterne
stuck his head in the small door opening and s
aid, “You’ll have to excuse my old lady.  She didn’t actually talk to the woman who came to the door earlier.  Are you talkin’ about that nosy reporter who came by a while ago?”

From where they stood, Nicki couldn’t hear Sean’s response.  She did know that she and Melissa had an opportunity to get away from Sterne.  From where she stood, she could see
a big window on the street side of the
living
room, and maybe she could get Sean’s attention that way.  But, no, if she got Sean’s attention, she’d also get Sterne’s, and then someone would get hurt.  No, there had to be a better way.  There had to be a back door.

Nicki placed her hand
on Melissa’s
arm and motioned toward the back of the house with her eyes.  At first, Melissa scowled and seemed r
esistant, but then she nodded, sucking in a breath through her nostrils.  The woman’s pupils were wide and dark, and she
did
look like a doe—
her
light brown hair
pulled back
, dark eyes, slender nose.
  Once they were in the living room, Nicki asked, “Where’s the back door?”

Melissa shook her head and started walking toward the back of the house.  Nicki followed.  The woman went down a small hallway and turned into a bedroom.  And
,
sure as shit
,
there were two young boys in the room.  They looked much like their mother—same brown hair, same helpless brown eyes.  They were as quiet as a Sunday morning, sitting on the floor next to the bed.  Both children appeared to be under five years old.  Nicki felt an overwhelming sadness as she looked at the two little ones who had already learned how to survive in a house full of anger and abuse.  Melissa sat down with them, apparently ready to accept her fate.

Nicki still whispered, but back here she could afford to be a little louder.  She still heard Sterne’s voice booming at Sean, so she knew he was distracted.  “We’ve
got to get out of here
.”  The woman just looked at Nicki.
  Nicki didn’t want to leave her, especially now that there were children involved, but she didn’t intend to stay and play victim.  “Where’s the back door?”  Melissa pointed toward the back of the house to the left and took a deep breath.  Nicki said, “Come on.  Let’s go.”

Melissa hesitated but then stood.  “
Mikey, Dale.”  Melissa picked up the littler guy and the older one took her hand.  Nicki walked out of the room into the hallway first, then waited for Melissa.  The woman continued down the hall toward the back of the house and followed it to the left, where it became a utility room complete with a beat-up washer and dryer, both old and not a matching set.  The dryer was running, though, so at least they worked.  The room had two unadorned windows, and Nicki could see sweet freedom in their near future.

Nicki stepped in front of Melissa to open the door so the woman wouldn’t have to let go of her sons.
  The door was locked, but Nicki had it open in short order.  She moved the door aside, then stepped out to hold the screen door so Melissa and her children could get out.  Once out
side
, they walked down the concrete steps.  Nicki saw that they were on the driveway
beside the house; in front of them were the blue Chevy and burgundy station wagon she’d seen earlier.  She knew that the window on the house just above the vehicles had to be the window to the kitchen.  If Sterne was still occupied with Sean, the windows wouldn’t be a problem, but if he was done and now wondering where the hell the women were, that window could prove to be a problem.  However, Nicki didn’t want to waste time wondering how to get out of there.  She hugged the wall, her back up against it, hoping that position would make them hard to see, and began walking toward the front of the house.  She looked over at Melissa, and the woman followed suit, her quiet little boys drinking it all in but saying nothing.

As they edged closer to the front of the house, Nicki heard Sean’s voice again.  She owed him a beer for this one.  Fuck, she’d offer a blowjob too but she didn’t think he’d take her up on the offer.  She felt a palpable relief wash over her as they got closer to the front of the house, one step at a time.

She also heard, in the distance, a siren, and it was getting closer to their position by the second.

The foursome continued their slow trek to the front of the house, and Nicki was finally able to make out some of Sean’s words.  “
I don’t buy that.  Why would she just leave her car in front of your house?”

“I have no idea.  She’s nosy.  Maybe she decided to talk to all the neighbors.”

Nicki and crew had gotten as far as they could to the front of the house without getting to where they could be seen by Sean or Sterne, but they could hear everything clearly…including the siren that was now on the block.  Only it wasn’t one siren—it was two.  Nicki could tell that by now.  She looked to the right and saw her first glimpse of flashing red and blue…not one or two but three cop cars.  And they all stopped right in front of Melissa Jacobs’s house, blocking the road from any other vehicles.

Before anyone could get out of their cars, Melissa’s older son broke free of her hand and began running toward the police cars.  “Mommy, it’s
Cops
,” he said, pointing and running in that jolted, awkward way that only toddlers can.

“Mikey, no!”  Melissa too began running, chasing her oldest son.

Jesus.  All that hard work.  Nicki stood for a second, not sure if she should join the melee as well or just stand back.  Sterne was more likely to shoot her than his sons.  But he was also more likely to shoot Sean.  Nicki began wa
lking toward the three of them
but looking at the porch
.  Sean was turned toward the street as well, processing all the developments
, and that’s when
Nicki
saw Sterne, face now redder than ever,
wrap an arm around Sean’s neck and point a gun to his head.

Chapter Twenty-one

NICKI HAD NOT
asked Sean for his help to get him hurt, and yet that’s what was happening right in front of her eyes.  As though it were in slow motion,
the action whirred around her, and
Nicki just stopped in her tracks to watch everythi
ng that was happening
.

Little Mikey
continued
running toward the street, Melissa still holding the smaller child, trying to catch the older one.  The police were starting to get out of their cars.  They were on high alert, hands reaching for weapons.  Their sirens were now off but the lights continued to flash.  The driver of the car directly in front of the house held a megaphone.  Nicki didn’t know if that was completely necessary, considering there wasn’t much distance.
  Nicki looked up at Sean.  He didn’t see her
or, if he did, it was in his peripheral vision
.  He didn’t look scared or angry.  He looked calm.  Nicki didn’t know what that meant exactly.  It felt like a knife was twisting in her gut as
her
stomach acid resolved to eat her stomach itself with worry. 
Sean, I’m so sorry
, she thought.

The police officer with the megaphone said, “Mr. Sterne, let the man go.”
  So the cops
knew
who
m
they were dealing with.  The budding reporter in her wanted to know
how
they knew and what had tipped them off to the goings on.  Nicki doubted Sean had called them.  He didn’t trust the law, and she couldn’t
picture
him deciding that calling 911 was a good idea.  Nicki knew it must have been one of the neighbors.  They’d probably seen Sterne one of the times he’d peeked
out the window and decided to call
.

“No fuckin’ way, man.”  Sterne looked like he was ready to blow.

“Listen, Mr. Sterne, you don’t want to hurt the man.  Just let him go and no one will get hurt.”

“Bullshit.”  Nicki could see from where she stood that Sterne was desperate.  He started to back up
into the house
, pulling Sean along with him. 
While
Sterne backed up, the gun still pointed at Sean’s temple, Sean shoved his body to the right, slamming Sterne’s arm into the doorjamb.  He didn’t drop the gun, but he did lose his aim.  In the same instant, Sean twisted around out of Sterne’s grip and punched Sterne straight in the nose.