The Dominator (17 page)

Earl was on the phone, “Yes, Sir. No, no problems, Sir.  Yes, Sir. Right, Sir. Fine, Sir. Bye, Sir.”

Fuck off and die, Sir, I thought to myself,
or so I thought but I guessed I had actually muttered it aloud and Earl was staring at me with a funny little smileon his fac
e.
I tried to smile back, I definitely blushed. I was grateful I wasn’t being babysat by burly number one or burly number two or Tommy’s very intense angry brother. I guess I kind of liked Earl so far. He seemed nice. He had kind eyes. As kind and nice, I guess, as a guy can be who’s helping another guy hold me prisoner.

As my neck was coming around to face forward after smiling at him I saw my foster mother push an empty shopping cart past me. Rose! She made eye contact briefly, and then kept going. This wasn’t her neighborhood. She glanced back at me and subtly made the sign language sign for toilet.

I knew a bit of sign language because last year we’d had a deaf 16 year old girl named Shelly live with us for four months. They were four hellish months because she was a nasty piece of work that made all our lives drama-filled and me and the other girls threw a little “Ding Dong the witch is dead” party with chanting and everything when she was relocated.

Rose wasn’t happy about our celebration at the time, giving us a lecture about being patient and trying to be helpful and turning the other cheek, yada yada, but that girl had stolen something or another (clothes, money, books) from every one of us, had spread lies about Bethany at school and online, and she was just really unpleasant. Anyway, I knew a few signs because of that.  I waited until we turned another corner and then tried to be nonchalant, “Is there a public washroom in this store?” I asked Sarah, careful not to look at Earl.

She pointed behind us, “Yeah, back by the customer service desk.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you in ice cream in 5?”

She smiled at me, “You want ice cream?”

I smiled back and nodded. “Be right back.”

Earl said something to her and she took the cart from me. He followed me to the bathroom. I felt my face get hot. I didn’t make eye contact with him. Thankfully, he at least waited outside the door.

The washroom had two regular stalls and one wheelchair washroom. I saw Rose’s feet in the wheelchair washroom. I pulled the handle and stepped in and she grabbed me and clutched me tight against her.

I tried not to make a sound but wanted to fall apart.

“Let’s go. Quick!” she said.

I put my finger to my lips and pointed out the door, “bodyguard,” I whispered.

She gasped and covered her mouth, then said, “I’ve been so worried. Are you okay?” her voice was barely above a whisper, “You don’t look well.”

I nodded and dashed the tears off my face.

“I don’t know much but I know when something is fishy. A man came to see me to tell me you were in protective custody temporarily, that your father was in trouble but the police were keeping you safe. He gave some cockamamie story with too many holes in it so I called the police. I had written down the license plate and gave it to them.”

My hand came up to cover my mouth. Oh fuck. Oh no.  Oh fuck.

“They transferred me to a cop and he took down the information and said he’d call me back. Someone else called and it didn’t feel right. They were giving us the total brush off, like you’d just run off with a boyfriend or something. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t you. I called Susie. She started poking around and then I got another visit, from a man who said you were now engaged to a powerful man and that you had moved on with your life. When I balked because, hey, I know you…he said we’d all be in danger if we continued to try to interfere. He said if we stayed out of it we might get invited to the wedding and get to have a relationship with you. If we didn’t, we might need to find a new house to live in because old houses like ours often had electrical fires. Can you imagine?  Cal was close to the house as he left with your things so I had him follow. This morning I decided to wait at that house for them to leave and then follow. Susie thinks you’re in trouble with the mob because of your father. Is it true? She said he’s been associated with the mafia over the years according to her contacts in the police department.”

“Oh Rose, this is too dangerous!” I was trying to keep my voice low. I didn’t have much time, “Listen,” I said, “I can’t talk about this but these are dangerous people. I don’t want you and Cal getting mixed up in this. I’m okay. I’m fine. Please don’t do anything else, please just ---”

“You are
not
fine!” her voice was getting too loud.

“Shhhh,” I winced, clutching her biceps.

There was a loud knock on the door. I flushed the toilet and signaled for her to Shh.

“Miss O’Connor?” Earl was inside the ladies’ room right outside the stall door.
Shit.

I started to open it and tried to squeeze out without revealing that Rose was in there with me. It was no use. He pulled the door open and came face to face with her.

“Is everything okay, Miss O’Connor?”  Earl asked, looking at her instead of me.

“It’s fine,” I breathed, “Let’s go.” I looked back, giving Rose a desperate look, “I’m fine. It’s okay. I’ll be in touch, okay?”

She shook her head at me and then turned her attention to Earl, “What do you people think you’re doing? You can’t just---”

“Please!” I exclaimed, “I’ll be in touch. Don’t, okay? Don’t put your family at risk. Trust me. I’ll be fine.” Earl narrowed his eyes at me and then at her. He reached for my elbow and gently ushered me forward.

“
You’re
part of our family, Tia.” Rose choked out.

“I love you.” I said to her, “Thank you for everything. Everything. I will be in touch, okay?”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand.

As we stepped out Earl said, “Take my arm, Miss O’Connor.”

I did. He ushered me directly out of the store and to the Jeep he’d driven us there in. He opened the back door and I got in.  He got into the driver’s seat, then dialed a number and held the phone. Then he hung up and dialed again and held the phone and looked pissed off. Then he dialed again, “Sir, there’s been an incident.  It’s under control but the foster mother followed us to the supermarket and got Tia into the bathroom and I broke up a conversation.” He was quiet for a minute and then stepped out of the jeep and closed the door and stepped about six feet away to finish his conversation. By the look on his face he looked like he was getting raked over the coals. He made another call and talked with a cold look on his face and then seemed like he was getting in an argument with someone.

When he got back into the car he dialed another number, “Mrs. Martinez we’re in the car due to a problem, security breach; you’re almost done there? Wrap it up immediately. No, per Mr. Ferrano. It’s urgent. Or, I take Miss O’Connor home and you either wait until I have relief to come back for you or you take a cab. No I will not ask her that. Fine...” he leaned back and asked me, “What kind of ice cream?”

I let out a half laugh, half cry. He shrugged kind of apologetically. I shook my head.

“She says surprise her,” he said and ended the call.

He pulled out and left Sarah at the supermarket and drove me back to Tommy’s house. That phone started ringing from my pocket. I took it out.

“T” calling. Great. I stared at it. After the third ring, Earl cleared his throat, “I’d answer that, Miss.”

I didn’t. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen. It stopped at 5 rings. Then Earl’s phone started ringing and he said a mix of yes Sirs and no Sirs all the way back. When we pulled inside the gate, which Earl appeared to have engaged somehow from within the vehicle. He stopped in front of the gate and sat there for what seemed like the longest time.  He dialed the phone and said, “What’s your ETA? Shit. Can’t do it. Won’t work. No, that’s not the plan. Can’t. We will have to reschedule.” he growled into the phone and then hung it up and finally drove in through the area between the gates.

“You can go ahead, Miss. O’Connor. I’m instructed to come with you, keep you company until Mr. Ferrano returns.”

I nodded and opened the car door and followed him into the house.

I sat at a stool at the kitchen island and folded my hands in front of me. I was dizzy. Please don’t hurt them, please don’t hurt them. It was a chant inside my head and I said it over and over and over.

“Do you want something to drink? Some tea?” Earl asked me. He seemed really uncomfortable.

I nodded. He put his suit jacket on the back of the chair, loosened his tie, and then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and filled the kettle.

“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” I whispered, “They’re good people. Please tell me they won’t be hurt.”

“Tommy will find a way to get them to back off. Don’t fret.” he said softly, then put the kettle on its base and turned it on. He stepped into the dining room when his phone vibrated. I couldn’t hear his conversation.  A moment later, he returned and then filled a tea pot and put it on the table with two cups, the sugar, and the milk.

A few minutes later we were drinking tea and saying nothing but it was a kind of comfortable silence. Finally, he fetched a newspaper from another room and handed me the entertainment section and opened the sports section.

After a while, I heard noise and it wasn’t what I’d hoped for, which would’ve been Sarah coming in with the groceries. Instead, it was
him
. Tommy leaned in the doorway of the kitchen, his face stoic, his eyes narrow and very angry and on me, “That’s all for now,” he said. Earl left the room.

“Upstairs,” Tommy said to me very calmly and then turned on his heel.

I was frozen in place.  He looked back over his shoulder at me, “Now.”

I rose slowly and then followed along, taking slow deep breaths and wishing I could just vanish into thin air.

Inside the master bedroom he sat on the bed and started to untie his black leather shoes. Then he took them off, took his tie off, his blazer off, and took cufflinks out. He looked even more dressed up than usual. Great, this incident got him pulled from an important meeting; that should put him in a fine mood.

He took his silver crucifix necklace off and put it on the nightstand. He took his shirt off and threw it on the bed. Then he folded his arms and stood up. He undid his belt. He was looking at me with intensity; biting down on his bottom lip. My heart rate started picking up and my throat felt dry. He had the halved belt in his hands and he jerked his hands to make it snap loudly. I jolted and then shuddered.

“So,” he said to me, “Care to explain what happened in the store today?”

I blanched. He had to already know what had happened from Earl.

“I saw Rose in the bathroom. She followed us. She was just worried. I told her to back off. She will.” My voice was small, weak, I was quaking.

“Yeah, Rosalie Crenshaw and Susan DeLong are making inquiries.  It needs to stop.”

“I-I told her I was fine, to back off.” I was not at all comfortable with the names he was dropping, the fact that he obviously had information on them. I kept my eye on the belt, feeling bile rise in my throat.

“Yeah, you said.”

He was silent, watching me.

“What are you gonna do?” My chin was trembling.

“You want to know what I’m going to do?” His eyes were challenging me.

“I want to know you’re
not
going to do anything to --- to them. I’ve talked to her; it’ll be fine. She…” I didn’t know how to finish that, to find the words to make him leave them alone.

He sighed, then pinched the bridge over his nose, “I do
not
need this hassle.”

I stood there, not knowing what he wanted me up here for. It was still the afternoon and he was undressing in front of me so of course I didn’t feel like, based on his track record so far, that this was going to go well.

“Come here,” he told me, dropping the belt on the bed beside him.

I blew out a slow breath. “Listen,” I said and took a step back.

He raised his eyebrows, “Here.”

I stepped up in front of him. He grabbed the back of my knees and pulled me closer.

“I had to come all the way home in the middle of a busy work day to deal with you so you’re going to make it worth my while,” he said and the tone of voice and expression on his face were scary. Beyond scary. He caressed the back of my leg softly. I tried to step back but he grabbed my hips.

“Did you disobey me?” his fingers dug in.

“No.” I whispered, my voice hoarse, gaze fixed on the ceiling.

“You snuck off to talk to her; what did you say?”

“I just kept telling her I’m fine and not to worry.”

One of his hands slid up and down my thigh. Suddenly both of his hands were pushing the pants I was wearing down, taking the underwear with them. I tried to back up.

“You refused to answer my call. Stop,” he said.

I froze.

“Take your shirt off,” he said.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. No way.