The Distance (29 page)

“We need the key.” I ran over to the bar and looked around as I asked, “Where did the bartender go?”

One of the waiters, a young, red-haired guy, was behind the bar and told me, “He left about five minutes ago and told me to cover for him. He said he needed a cigarette break. The only keys I know of are on his key chain and on the club owner’s, and the owner hasn’t been in all night.”

“Look behind the bar,” I said. “Look everywhere for a spare set, including in the register. Does the club owner have an office? Maybe he keeps an extra set of keys in there.”

“Not on site.” The red-haired guy grabbed another waiter by the arm and the two of them searched for a key.

“What about the back door?” Dante asked.

“We were just there, it’s locked too.”

Everyone was starting to get nervous, and a buzz went around the room. The smell of smoke was still subtle but more pronounced, and I could see worry on many people’s faces. Across the room, Vincent ran to the DJ booth and cut the music, then grabbed the mic and said, “Everyone, stay calm. We have a bit of a situation, but we’re handling it.”

Dante and I ran back to the door and he tried kicking it a few times, but it was solid metal and didn’t budge. As he bent to examine the lock, Kai held up his phone and said, “I’ve called nine-one-one. The fire department is on the way.”

Another buzz went through the crowd, and Nana exclaimed, “Everyone just keep calm! My boys are going to get us out of here!”

“There are no keys,” the redhead yelled.

I shouted, “Keep searching,” and looked around, trying to think. The crowd was getting louder and louder. I could hear panic in their voices.

The club had no windows, and only the two doors. I looked up at the high ceiling. It was painted black, just like the walls and every other surface in the club. Someone had brought up the lights, and I noticed a black, framed rectangle above the doorway that was slicker than the textured walls. I grabbed Kai’s arm and said, “I think that might be a transom. If it is, I can try to squeeze through. Do you have a crowbar in your trunk? If so, I can try to pry the door open from the outside.”

“There are a few tools in there, but I have no idea if there’s a crowbar. It’s worth a look, though.”

He laced his fingers together to boost me up, and I stepped onto his hand. The painted surface above the door felt like glass when I ran my palm over it. The transom was nearly the width of the doorway but less than a foot high. I shoved on the frame and felt it give, just a little.

With a loud ‘whoosh’, an orange sheet of flames suddenly shot up the far wall behind the DJ booth, then rolled across the ceiling like a burning tide. My heart leapt as fear jolted me, and someone screamed. An oppressive wall of heat radiated down from above and I cowered, even though there were eight feet between me and the fire.

Below me, people were screaming and trying to rush away from the burning wall. There were way too many people in that small space, and some of them started pushing and shoving as panic took control. In the center of it all, Dante had one arm around his husband Charlie and one around Nana, trying to shield them both from the crushing throng. Ollie embraced her too, and Nana clung to him. Several more layers of loved ones formed rings of protection around their beloved Nana in a desperate attempt to keep her safe. It wouldn’t be enough at the rate the fire was spreading.

My heart pounded in my ears as fear made the hair on my arms stand on end. I was terrified, more than I’d ever been in my life. I looked down at Kai. There was fear in his eyes, but he was trying not to let it show.

He couldn’t die here. He just couldn’t. I had to get him out of here, and Jed and Nana and all of these people, all of my family.

I straightened up and put my fist through the glass. Pain shot through my hand, but that didn’t matter. I used the hole I’d made to grasp the edge of the window frame with both hands, and blood ran between my fingers as I sliced my palms on the rim of broken glass. Kai clutched me with his arms around my legs, trying to steady me as I threw everything I had into wrenching that frame. The heat of the fire was bearing down on me, and I was coughing from the smoke, which had begun to fill the room. Below me, Vincent was telling everyone to get low, down to the fresher air near the floor. I yelled as I tore at the frame.

Finally, it swung open from the top as countless layers of paint gave way, but I needed more room to get through. Somehow, I found the strength to wrench it off its rusty hinges and threw it out into the street. I slipped my head and shoulders through the narrow opening and looked around. The industrial neighborhood was deserted, there was no one I could ask for help.

I pushed my torso through, my body bruising and my skin and clothes tearing on the remains of the rusty hinges. It was an incredibly tight fit, and for a nightmarish moment, I was sure I was stuck. I cried out and grasped the opening, using my arms for leverage, pushing with all my strength as I tried to wriggle myself free. By sheer force of will, I somehow managed to force my butt and thighs through.

I tried to twist around as I fell so I wouldn’t land head-first, and when I hit the sidewalk, excruciating pain shot up my leg. I pushed myself to my feet, gritting my teeth through the pain, and tried the door from the outside, shaking the handle. The screams of terror from inside the building were the most horrible thing I’d ever heard. I pulled at the handle with all my strength. Inside, I could hear someone trying to bust through it, probably kicking it. That door was never going to give.

I bent down to look at the handle, trying to figure out what was wrong. A twisted piece of metal was broken off inside the lock, jamming it. A fresh shock of fear, cold and terrible, ran through me as some pieces fell into place. There had been no fire alarm. The sprinkler system hadn’t gone off.

This had been intentional.

I turned and limp-ran down the middle of the street. Pain radiated up my right leg with each step. I ignored it.

When I finally reached the Impala, half a block away, I unlocked the trunk and searched it frantically. There was no crowbar, nothing I could use to get the door open. Oh God. I looked around me, trying to think, trying not to panic, as my heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest.

Suddenly, I had an idea. I grabbed my phone and speed-dialed Kai, and when he answered I yelled, “I need you to get everyone away from the front of the building. Hurry, Kai. I’m coming to save you, but I need everyone away from the wall beside the door because I’m about to come through it!”

“Oh God. Okay, Jessie.” He had his phone on speaker, and he yelled over the noise, “Vincent and Trevor, help me! You too, Jed and Skye. We need to get everyone away from this wall. Make a line, join hands and push everyone back!” He erupted into a coughing fit.

“I love you so much, Kai,” I told him as I got the door unlocked and dove behind the wheel of the Impala. I didn’t think he’d heard me over the yelling. I dropped the phone and fumbled with his keys.

I finally heard sirens in the distance. What the fuck was taking them so long? My hands were bleeding and shaking, but somehow I got the key in the ignition and took a deep breath as the big engine roared to life. I fastened my seatbelt, threw the car in gear and floored it. Thank God that the front of the club was a fire lane, and for once, people had actually obeyed the red zone and left the opening I needed.

An odd calm settled over me, and time seemed to slow down in the few seconds it took me to reach the building. I became focused, trying to judge my speed and the weight of the Impala in relation to the brick wall I was about to smash into. If I overshot, I’d run people down. Not enough force and the wall wouldn’t give. It might also knock out the engine, so I potentially only had one shot at this.

I flung the wheel to the left and gunned the engine as the big car hopped the curb. Immediately, I hit the brakes and braced myself as the front fender smashed into the wall. The impact was jarring, even worse than I’d expected. I slammed against the seatbelt and my head bounced off the steering wheel. It took me a moment to recover. When I looked up, I was overcome with relief, because there was a huge hole in the wall.

I threw the car into reverse and backed it out of the opening. Immediately, people began running from the building. I kept backing down the street to get out of the way and ended up swinging the car back into its original parking space at an odd angle.

When I tried to get out of the car, I cried out and collapsed onto the pavement. My right leg wouldn’t hold me up, and the pain was unbearable. I leaned against the door for a moment, catching my breath, and patted the Impala as I whispered, “Good girl. You did great.”

I had to know if my family was safe, so after a moment I began crawling down the street toward the burning building. Flames shot from the roof, lighting up the night. People were running. I saw Dante carrying Nana. Ollie and Jed were right beside them. There was one person I didn’t see though, and I called out, “Kai?” My voice sounded weak.

Finally, a big fire truck and an ambulance pulled onto the street, lights flashing and sirens shrieking. Rescue workers spilled from the vehicles and went to work immediately. As they pulled hoses from the truck and flung open the bay doors of the ambulance, I almost cried with relief. They’d help my family. It was out of my hands.

Jed spotted me crawling down the roadway and ran to me. When he reached me, my brother scooped me up in his arms and I asked, “Where’s Kai? Is he okay?”

“I think so,” he stammered. “Oh God, Jessie, you’re covered in blood.”

“Did I hit anyone with the car? Did I kill anyone?” I kept blinking and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t make my left eye focus.

“No, Jessie, no one got hurt. We got everyone back from the wall, just like you said. Then we all ran to safety.”

“Where’s Kai?” I asked again. My voice sounded hollow and it was hard to keep my eyes open. An odd prickling sensation ran through my body.

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” I felt Kai pick me up and tried to grasp his shirt. I couldn’t move my arm.

“I love you, Kai,” I murmured. “I didn’t know if you heard me.”

“I love you, too, Jessie. You need to stay with me, baby. Can you hear me?”

I forced my eyes open and tried to nod. I wasn’t sure if my head actually moved. It felt like we were running. Everything was swirling around me. It got harder and harder to make sense of what was happening, so I let my eyes slide shut again.

“This man needs medical attention!”

Kai was yelling that. He put me down and I wanted to protest. I missed the warmth of his body. It was so incredibly cold without his arms around me.

I felt pressure on my forehead. I forced my eyes open and dropped my head to the right. Nana was on a stretcher beside me. She looked so little and pale. There was an oxygen mask on her face, and she wasn’t moving. Oh God.

I tried to call to her. I wasn’t sure if I made a sound. I felt a tear spill down my cheek.

Blackness closed in on me from all sides, narrowing my field of vision further and further until there was nothing left.
Please God, please help Nana
.
Don’t let her die
. I sent that prayer into the universe.

I realized I wasn’t cold anymore.

I wasn’t anything at all.

I felt like I was swimming up through cloudy water. I didn’t know where I was, but it was bright. Too bright. My eyelids fluttered, but I didn’t want to open them.

“Jessie?” I heard Nana right beside me and felt her hand on my cheek.

“Shit,” I murmured. “Are we both dead? I love you, Nana. I didn’t want you to die.”

“I tell you what, that’s no way to go. When I eventually get to heaven, I plan to slide in sideways on the back of a motorcycle. What I don’t plan to do is keel over like one of those fainting goats and then wake up at the pearly gates. Have you ever seen those things? You say ‘boo’ to them and over they go, legs stiff and sticking straight up in the air.”

I grinned a little. “I’m sorry you’re dead, but I’m glad I’m not alone in heaven. I think it’d probably be really boring without you.”

She chuckled at that. “Oh honey, you’re not dead. You’re just on a shitload of narcotic pain killers. You probably won’t even remember this conversation when you sober up a bit.”

“I’m going to miss Kai,” I slurred. “And Izzy. I love them so much. I finally got my own family. He was so pretty, too. Wasn’t Kai pretty, Nana?”

“He’s very pretty, Jessie.”

“I didn’t just love him because he was so pretty. He was such a good guy. The best. He was just the best guy. He was so kind and considerate. And sexy. Gawd, those tight jeans he wore would drive me nuts. I’d take one look at him and get an instaboner. Should I be saying instaboner in heaven? Am I going to get kicked out for that?”

“Well shit, if they hold bad language against you, I’m fucked,” Nana said.

“Kai was so sexy, but he was more than that,” I went on. I had an important point to make, I just had to find it. “He made me feel loved. He was such a great dad, too. Oh God, him and Izzy together, it was just the sweetest thing. And he found my brother and sister and cousin Bet-Bet! Who does that? Who tries so hard to make things good? Mal’kai Kahale, that’s who.”

“Jessie, baby, you should try to rest.” That voice was Kai’s.

My eyes flew open and I flailed around as I exclaimed, “No, Kai! You can’t be dead, too! Izzy needs you! Get the fuck away from the light!”

He chuckled gently and said, “Poor guy. He’s completely wasted.” I felt him rest his hand on my arm, and I closed my eyes because keeping them open was way too much work.

“Don’t be dead, Kai,” I whispered as I felt myself sinking back under that cloudy water.

“I’m not, baby. None of us are.”

“Think they’d let me try some of what he’s on?” Nana asked. “Maybe not quite so much. But, you know, just a little hit?”

“Heaven’s super fuckin’ weird,” I muttered before the light went away again.

*****

The next time I woke up, Nana was sitting at my bedside, trying to knit. Ollie had been teaching her. She wasn’t a sit-still kind of person though, and after a minute she tossed the yarn and needles into a trashcan and told them, “You just stay in there, you uncooperative fuckers. This is why they have stores, so we don’t have to make our own clothes like some damn sheep farming craft bitch.”

I shifted position a bit and winced, and Nana exclaimed, “You’re awake! How do you feel, Sweet Pea?”

“I hurt all over.”

“Let me call the nurse for you. I guess your pain meds have worn off.” She picked up a white cylinder on a cord and pushed the button at the end of it. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, let me refresh your memory. You saved more than a hundred of our friends and family members. In the process, you broke your ankle, gave yourself a concussion and cut your head, probably when you hit the steering wheel. You were gushing blood from a head wound, it looked like something out of a horror movie! You did some other damage to yourself, too. You sliced up your hands and back real good when you climbed through that transom. Fortunately, your jeans protected your lower half from getting cut up, but you also bruised almost every inch of yourself. Now for the good news: all of that is fixable, and you’re going to be fine. So are all the people you saved. Aside from a few people getting treated for smoke inhalation, everyone’s A-OK, thanks to you. You’re a hero, Jessie.”

“No I’m not. I was just the only one skinny enough to fit through the transom.”

“Bullshit. You kept your head and thought of a solution. We all would be dead if you hadn’t used that big, heavy car to knock down a wall,” she said.

“The fire department arrived, they would have pried the door open.”

“Eventually. But it was bad inside that building. It had filled with smoke, and people were panicking. I’m surprised no one got trampled. Now just admit you’re a hero and stop arguing with an old lady!”

I grinned at her and said, “I don’t see any old ladies here.”

“That’s my boy.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek.

“Are you okay? I saw you on a stretcher. I was so scared.”

“I passed out. It was all just too much excitement, especially on the heels of about a gallon of margaritas at the strip club. Everyone freaked out and thought I had another heart attack. I had a minor one a couple years ago, key word
minor
. Dante made me go to the hospital to get checked out. He’s such a worrier.”

A nurse stuck her head in the door, and Nana exclaimed, “About damn time! This boy’s in pain, so you need to get him some drugs, stat!”

The nurse frowned a bit and said, “I’ll get the doctor,” before disappearing again.

I asked, “Where’s Kai?”

“He’s right there.” Nana gestured to my left, and with some difficulty I rolled over a bit and saw him curled up on a gurney against the wall, fast asleep. “He maintained a constant bedside vigil from the moment you first arrived at the hospital. It was the sweetest thing. Finally though, after two days I told him he had to get some sleep or he was going to go loopy. They wheeled in that bed for him because he refused to leave your side. That boy’s madly in love with you, Jessie.”

“It’s mutual.” I grinned at his sleeping form and turned back to Nana.

“Your brother and sister have been here, too. They sat up with you all last night, and just left a couple hours ago to get some sleep at Jed’s apartment. They’ll be back this evening.”

“Ruthie’s here?”

She nodded. “Your sister drove up from San Diego as soon as Jed called her. They’re both such sweet kids.”

I replayed the last few minutes of our conversation. Something Nana had said seemed to raise a red flag, and as my groggy brain tried to work out what it was, I asked, “What day is it?”

“Monday, and it’s about two p.m.”

“Why was I asleep so long?”

“You weren’t sleeping the whole time. They’ve kept you hopped up on pain killers, which did knock you out for a lot of it, but you’d wake up periodically and have a lot to say. You’re incredibly foul-mouthed when you’re on drugs. I’m not complaining! It gave me a good chuckle,” Nana said. “Do you remember any of our conversations?”

“I think I remember one. Did we talk about fainting goats and instaboners at some point, or did I dream that?”

“That was the first time you woke up. You were drugged off your gourd and were convinced you, me and your sweetie were all lined up at the pearly gates. But that’s just silly. You ought to know by now I’m way too ornery to die.”

“Oh man,” I mumbled. “I hate to think about what else I said.”

“Since then, they’ve been gradually dialing back your pain meds. You seem a lot more with-it this time.”

“I feel like I’m forgetting something really important, but my head’s in a fog….” All of a sudden, it hit me and I exclaimed, “Monday! Oh no, I slept through your wedding! How was it? Please tell me it was perfect!”

Nana waved her hand. “You didn’t sleep through anything. Ollie and I are postponing it until you’re better. You really think we’d go out and party while you’re alone in the hospital, battered and bruised from saving us and dozens of our friends and family? Come on. I’d have to be a real tool to do something like that.”

I grinned a little. “I’ve never heard you use the word tool.”

“I just learned it from my great-grandson Joshie. It’s a good word. I’ve been trying to work it into more conversations. I think it fit pretty good there.”

I grew serious and said, “I didn’t want you to miss your wedding, Nana. You had it all planned! You’ll never get the same hotel, it was booked through next year. Plus the food, the flowers, the cake, none of that will be refundable. And you and Ollie had people flying in from all over!”

“So they’ll fly in again when you’re well enough to be right there beside us. As for all the rest of it, what does that stuff matter, really? I’ll admit, I got a bit caught up in all the hype and this crazy idea of the ‘perfect’ wedding. But a perfect wedding isn’t one with the prettiest dress and the fanciest venue and the most stunning flowers. It’s just me marrying my sweetie with the people we love most in the world around us to share our happiness. That absolutely has to include you, Sweet Pea, and it did even before you turned into Superman and saved us. I’ve been telling you forever that I love you and you’re a part of my family. Maybe now you’ll believe me.”

“I did actually figure that out, even before you postponed your wedding for me.”

“About damn time.” I grinned at that, and Nana threw her hands up and exclaimed, “Oh, I didn’t tell you what happened! My ex-husband showed up yesterday morning. He’d heard about the wedding and probably figured he’d make a scene, because he lives for shit like that. He came to the house, and as soon as my fiancé found out who he was, Ollie punched him in the nose! He doesn’t look it, but my man’s a tiger. Ollie told him that was for leaving his wife for some young hussy. Then Ollie said, ‘Thank you for being a fucking moron. If you’d been smart enough to stay with Stana, I would have missed out on the most spectacular woman in the world.’ Then Ollie slammed the door in his face.” Nana looked delighted.

I smiled and said, “That’s awesome.”

She got up and said, “Now you rest for a minute while I go find that doctor and drag him in here by his hairy ball sack!” She pulled down the jacket of her purple velour tracksuit by its hem and bustled from the room while I chuckled to myself.

*****

That evening when Dante came to visit, he found Kai curled up in my hospital bed with me. My boyfriend was holding me gently and my head was on his chest. “Hey,” I said as Dante sat beside us. “You just missed Nana, she left about ten minutes ago. Ollie insisted on taking her home for some dinner and a good night’s sleep.”

“I spoke to them in the parking lot. Sorry to immediately intrude on the first moment you two have probably had to yourselves.”

“It’s okay.”

Dante grinned and said, “You know, I was in this same private hospital a couple years ago, and Charlie climbed into bed with me just like that. The nurses tried to pitch a fit. I think Nana finally threatened to buy the hospital and fire them all.”

“She threatened them again today, so they’re being nice to us,” Kai said.

“Nana told me no one got hurt Friday night. She wasn’t just saying that because she doesn’t want to upset me, right?” I asked.

Dante said, “A couple dozen people got treated for smoke inhalation, and I’m sure a few people are going to have nightmares for a good, long time, but nobody got hurt, thanks to you.”

I lowered my voice and said, “Someone broke off a key or something in the lock, Dante, and they must have disabled the sprinklers and alarms. Did you see the way that fire spread? None of it was an accident.”

“I know. I’ve been talking to the SFPD, and it was definitely arson. The whole place was rigged to go up. There were two ignition points, one in the kitchen, one behind the DJ booth, and the walls and ceiling had been sprayed with a chemical accelerant. The electric starter in the kitchen misfired, which is a break for the arson investigator. He’s a good guy, by the way, his name’s Cameron Doyle. He sent the device to the lab, they should be able to gather forensic evidence from it. And then, when the SFPD finds the arsonist, he’s going to tell me who hired him to try to take out my family.” His voice was quiet, but something dark and dangerous flashed in his eyes. Whoever had crossed Dante Dombruso was going to pay, I knew that with absolute certainty.

“You already have some theories about who’s behind it, don’t you?” I asked.

“I assume it was the Messinas. If Jerry gave them information on our organization and they decided we were ripe for a hostile take-over, what a perfect opportunity to strike us down. Every adult male in my family was at the club that night. Nana and my female relatives weren’t supposed to be there. My cousins Carla and Rachel hold key spots within the family structure, but an old-school Sicilian like Mick Messina would only think to target the men. It has classic mob hit written all over it.”

“Jesus,” Kai murmured.

Dante said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going after them without solid evidence. Right now, we’re trying to find the club owner and the bartender, because we think someone may have paid them off. And hopefully the arsonist can be identified. Any of those three will lead us to whoever was behind that fire.”