Shamrocks and Secrets (26 page)

“
Al
l right, Ma, you were right, I
’
m going to try and win Christi
’
s hand.
”

Christi certainly didn
’
t make it easy for me. She fought me at every turn. Sophia Porchelli had certainly tried to complicate matters, as well.

It wasn
’
t until that day at Christi
’
s sister, Coleen
’
s, grave that I felt like I had a real chance. I made inquires to find out who Jimmy was, the asshole that had supplied Coleen with the drugs that had killed her. There wasn't much out there to go on and so I had let it drop.

I knew I frustrated Christi with all the women that ran in my circle. However, I never suspected Makenna would turn out the way she had. She and I were strictly business associates, at least on
my
end we were. Christi was quick to call her out and put her in her place.

But now I was being punished. I had tried so hard to get her out of my system and now she was paying the price for my stupidity

It wasn
’
t even a week after Christi disappeared when Sophia came slithering into my office. Christi was right when she had called her a snake. I didn
’
t trust her. So when she entered my office with her fake concern, I played her. I made her think I was glad to see her and even accepted her help in finding Christi. I knew better, she was feeling me out. She hoped that if Christi didn
’
t return, that I would turn to her for comfort. What she didn
’
t know was that there would be no one else. Sophia was someone who would never warm my heart nor my bed.

Once Sophia made her fake offer of help, she slithered her way back out of my office. I picked up the phone and put Douce on her tail. I reminded him that he had better do his job this time or he would be dealing with me, personally. Douce was already skating on thin ice with me as it was. Once I found out about Giggles, I had given him the opportunity to come clean. It wasn
’
t long before more and more women came forward, claiming their children were his. Not all were, but an additional three turned out to be. I reminded him that if he was man enough to climb into bed with a girl, he should be man enough to accept the consequences and responsibilities. He was working harder now to support those children. They all deserved the best and I assured Douce that he would be providing that.

Christi had been missing for ten days when Tonto came into my office. He had been beside me the entire time I scoured the back alleys and shady hotels. He offered to have his brothers come out and see if they could turn up anything. He informed me that his brothers were a group of bounty hunters. They had been known to travel outside of the law when they needed to. It was rumored that they had exceptional abilities and could find anything and anyone. I told Tonto that I would cover their expenses and whatever else they needed, I would make certain they had it. That afternoon, Beck, Dustin, and Russell arrived. They went to Christi
’
s house and searched. They came to my condo and did more searching. Five days later, they got back on the plane after turning up nothing. Whoever had taken Christi had been thorough in hiding their trail.

At the two-week mark, Harley came into my office. She was visibly upset as she offered to return to the streets and see if she could get anything out of her old contacts. I rose from of my chair and gave her a hug.
“
Frankie, you know Christi would be pissed at us both if I let you do that.
”

That was the first time I had ever called her Frankie, but it wouldn
’
t be the last. She had proved herself. That same week, Maggie informed me that she was continuing to plan the wedding. She told me she just knew Christi would be home soon.

My ma made it a point to attend church every day and light a candle. She prayed twice a day for Christi
’
s safe return. I joined her in the evening. Even with all my money and connections, I still had nothing.

So here I sat, six weeks later and I was no closer to finding her than I was the minute she was taken. The sun was barely starting to rise when I heard a firm knock on my office door. I didn
’
t sleep anymore; there was no point. Images of Christi would flood my closed eyes.

“
Enter!
”
I shouted as the knock sounded again.

I didn
’
t even turn to look at who had walked through the door. I didn
’
t care. Unless they had Christi by the hand, I had no use for them.

“
Boss?
”
Angus
’
s deep voice called. I didn
’
t answer him. I didn
’
t turn around, I just kept looking at the horizon.
“
I know this is trivial, Boss, but the alarms down in the cavern over at
Clair's
started going off a while ago.
”

My father had installed an alarm system inside the caverns a few years ago. Before that, I had to have someone go down and physically take a look around. It was a waste of manpower since it took nearly an hour to get a look in all of the rooms down there. Now, if too much water was detected, an alarm would sound and tell us which room was flooding.

Angus was right, it was trivial. They could fill it to the top with water and it wouldn
’
t bring her back.

“
Boss, I want her back as much as you do. I remember the first time you took her to
Clair's
,
you promised her you
’
d take her on a tour when she was ready.
”

I remembered the conversation he was referring to. I remembered the promise I had made to her, I also remembered how she smelled and how she was still against being with me then.

“
When Ms. O'Rourke gets back, I want the caverns to be ready for her. She
’
ll be upset with me if she knew I let them flood and she missed seeing them. I owe her so much. I wouldn
’
t have my Maggie if it weren't for her. She always treats the guys with respect and we all love her.
”

Angus was right. She would chew us both out and I knew they all loved her, just nothing like I did.

“
I called Douce, but he didn
’
t pick up and the alarms keep going off.
”

I turned to Angus and looked him in the eye.

I remembered when Christi called me and said that she wanted me to set Maggie and Angus up. Little did I know that she had already put the ball into motion. Christi wanted everyone around her to be as happy as she was.

“
You
’
re right, Angus. Go check on the caverns and let me know what you find. I
’
m going to keep my promise to take her down there.
”

Angus turned to leave when I called to him.

“
Oh, and have Douce call me when you finally talk to him.
”

Angus nodded his head, and then turned and left.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to question Douce
’
s whereabouts. When I gave him instructions to follow Sophia, he would tell me that she wasn
’
t doing anything out of the ordinary. He would tell me what clubs she visited and what stores she shopped at. Nothing apart from the norm he would say.

Except that Sophia was a New York girl. Even with all the shopping and clubs Chicago had to offer, it was nothing compared to New York. Or so my sister had told me. So why was she staying here? Douce needed to call me
.
I wanted, no needed, to find out the answer to that very question.

The shrill ringing of my cell brought me out of my thoughts. The sun was now high in the sky and nearly an hour had passed since Angus had left. I grabbed my phone and didn
’
t bother to check the screen.

“
Yes,
”
I spoke into the phone.

“
Boss, I found her.
”

M
oldy, stale, wet dirt.

The smell engulfed my senses and made me want to vomit. Where the hell was I? Why did my body hurt so much?

As I tried desperately to open my eyes, I began to remember. Paige
’
s wedding, the storage room and then...oh, God...Jimmy. Jimmy was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, th
at
sinister smile across his evil face.

“
What the fuck are you doing here?
”
I remembered questioning him as he only glared back at me, like he was enjoying himself.

I turned to my left and saw two more figures that crept slowly forward. Sophia slithered her way towards me, her smile calculating and without joy.

“
Do you know how long I
’
ve waited for this moment?
”
she sneered.

It was then that I noticed Anthony Porchelli, dressed in an Armani tux, much like many of the men present at Paige
’
s wedding.

”Well, well, well, we meet again, Christi,
”
he cooed, his face stoic and evil.

I turned to leave. I knew this wasn
’
t a good group to be alone with. Jimmy was nothing but bad news, he was heavy into drugs and I was certain, other illegal dealings. I had to find my dad, tell him Jimmy was back in town.

As quickly as I turned, I felt a hard shove to the middle of my back, followed by the pulling of my hair, causing my neck to bend back as I tried to grab onto the shelf that stood to my left. Whomever had a hold of my hair only pulled harder, freeing it from its up-do and I felt myself falling backwards. Instinct kicked in and I tried to scream, but a hand quickly covered my nose and mouth. I began to flail my arms and legs. My hem had been too long, but the alteration lady told me it would take away from the dress if I had too much removed, so I had worn very high-heeled shoes to compensate. If I could get my spiked heel near whoever had me, I knew I could do some real damage.

I tried over and over to stomp my heel behind me. I
must
have made contact, because I heard Jimmy yelling,
“
Stupid bitch!
”
in my ear, but he didn
’
t stop and neither did I. At some point, my shoe gave out and before I could reach my other heel back, I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

I could feel the metal of the shelves as I was slammed repeatedly against them. My vision started to blur as I closed my eyes and began to pray.
“
Please, God, let Patrick find me.
”

With a final blow, I felt a sharp sting to the back of my neck and then everything went black.

Finally, after who knew how long, I was able to open my eyes. The room, if you could call it that, was very dimly lit. I could hear the dripping of water as it hit a puddle somewhere off in the distance. I tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea hit me causing me to lie back down, darkness engulfing me once again.

“
Wake up, you lazy cunt!
”

Jimmy...that voice would haunt me forever.

Before I could react, I felt a sharp blow to my ribs.
“
I said wake the fuck up!
”

His kick was so hard that I began to cough. My vision blurred and this time I began to throw up uncontrollably. Minutes passed while I continued to vomit. Suddenly, a stream of ice cold water hit me square in the chest.

“
Knock off that puking shit and wake the fuck up. You
’
re even more pathetic than your fucking bitch of a sister.
”

I struggled to sit up, leaning my body against the uneven texture of the wall behind me. Where the hell was I? The wall felt like stone, cold and hard.

“
Jimmy, why are you doing this?
”

My words managed to set him off.
“
My fucking name isn
’
t Jimmy, you stupid fucking bitch, it
’
s Jeremiah! I told your ignorant cunt of a sister that, but she couldn't get it right either.
”

I began to shake from the cold water I was now sitting in. I could feel it dripping off my face and down my back. I reached up to wipe my face when suddenly Jeremiah grabbed my left hand.

“
I
’
ll be taking this.
”

He held my wrist with one hand while he tore my engagement ring from my finger. I watched as he began to carefully examine it, and then he tossing it up in the air, letting it fall back into his waiting hand.
“
Bet you had to suck a lot of cock to get this from him, didn
’
t you?
”

I chose to say nothing, Patrick preferred me not to go down on him. I could count on one hand in the past six months the number of times he had allowed me to do that.

You
’
re too special to me, Christi
…
his words echoed inside my head.

I heard the clicking of heels as the door to the room swung open and in walked a very put-together Sophia.

“
She isn
’
t needed for that anymore, he told me I do it better.
”

Sophia
’
s eyes never left mine as she crossed the short distance from the door. She knelt down and continued to look into my eyes.
“
That
’
s right, little Christi, Patrick has forgotten all about you. My mouth on him is all he can talk about now.
”
I began to wonder just how long I had been out. It could have been days, weeks I doubted.
“
I can tell you, he
’
s happier than he
’
s been in years.
”

Her face showed no dishonesty, no lack of sincerity.

She leaned in further as she continued,
“
He
’
s the best fuck I
’
ve ever had.
”
I watched as her dark lips formed the words, her teeth touching as
“
the best
”
left her mouth.

"In the future, when you hear someone talking about me, no matter who it is, ask me before you do anything.
”

Again, his words filled my head, he had told me to come to him after that day in the cemetery.

Before I could respond, Sophia grabbed my wrist.
“
He said he wanted this back, it
’
s for me now.
”

She quickly removed my bracelet and placed it on her own wrist. She was trying to break me, telling me he was with her, taking away his promise. She thought she was hurting me, but she was wrong. The bracelet was only a symbol, I had his heart, and I knew I always would.

Sophia stood to leave and I took in a painful breath.
“
Sophia, wait.
”
She turned and met my eyes again.
“
You say you
’
re with him now?
”

Her smile was big, as she longingly looked at my bracelet, that now rested on her wrist.
“
Yes, I
’
m going to meet him after I leave here. Jealous?
”

I wanted to laugh, I wanted to say that she was bat shit crazy if she thought for one second that my Patrick would ever consider being with her.

“
Tell me, when you
’
re in his bed, riding him, calling out his name, does it bother you that you
’
re in the same bed where he promised me forever? The same sheets where he made me cum over and over?
”

The smile dropped from her face.

“
Secondly, if it
’
s true and you
’
re warming his bed every night, what is it that hangs over his bed on the wall?
”

The smile returned as she made her way back to kneel in front of me.
“
A painting, but I never have time to really look at it, if you know what I mean.
”

I began to laugh, my ribs hurt like hell, but it was worth it to watch her face as I delivered my final blow.

“
You
’
re so full of shit, behind his bed is a window, you dumb bitch, and furthermore, he doesn
’
t let me go down on him because he says only whores are allowed to kneel in front of him. I guess you know where you stand with him.
”

I never saw Jeremiah
’
s hand until it connected with my face and the room faded to black.

“
Looks like the princess has been dethroned.
”
If I could just keep my eyes closed, maybe he would go away.
“
You should
’
ve taken me up on my offer, you know.
”

Luck was clearly not on my side. I had no clue what day it was or what time. I knew it had been a while because I could smell myself. I had lain in the same place, on the cold stone floor long enough to know which area stayed dry and which one had moisture on it. I couldn
’
t remember the last time I had eaten, if you could even call it that. Once in a while, the door opened slightly and someone threw in a piece of food
—
usually stale moldy bread or half-rotten fruit. At first, I tossed it in the corner, but now I ate the parts that were salvageable. Right now I was so thirsty I was ready to lick the wet floor, which wouldn
’
t be the first time, either.

“
Why am I here?
”
My throat stung as I questioned the man standing in front of me.

“
Oh, my Christi. You wound me, you
’
re here because I want you.
”

I opened my eyes to find that the face indeed matched the voice, Anthony. What could he possibly want from me?

“
How does it feel to want, Christi?
”

I was so tired; fear was something that had left me a long time ago. I knew Patrick was trying to find me, and my dad would never give up looking for me. But I just didn
’
t know how much longer I could hang on. My body showed me all the signs, I hadn
’
t had to pee in a very long time, and I hadn
’
t cried since the last time I was fed stale bread.

“
Oh, you do make this a fun game.
”

I watched as he reached out and cupped his hand around my cheek. I couldn
’
t have stopped him if I
’
d wanted to, and, God, did I want to.

“
Even drained of all your spirit, you
’
re still breathtaking.
”

It was then I realized the news reports were correct. He was a very sick person. He played with his victims before he killed them.

“
You
’
ll learn to love me, Christi.
”

I closed my eyes again as he continued to traced my cheek and throat.
“
That
’
s where you
’
re wrong, I
’
ll never love you.
”
It took all of my remaining strength to turn my head, removing his hand from my skin.

“
Oh, I think you will. It
’
s either that, or I
’
ll let you die.
”